“Signs
of
a
cooling
labor
market
in
today’s
BLS
report
could
have
provided
the
Federal
Reserve
the
data
it
needs
to
cut
interest
rates
when
they
meet
at
the
end
of
July,”


Bright
MLS
chief
economist
Lisa
Sturtevant
said
in
a
statement.

“However,
with
the
employment
numbers
coming
in
strongly
and
with
continued
expectations
that

tariffs
will
lead
to
higher

inflation,
it
is
likely
that
the
Fed
is
again
going
to
hold
off
on
rate
cuts.”

Construction
jobs,
which
tend
to
be
a
leading
indicator
of
the
direction
of
the
economy,
clocked
in
at
8.3
million,
little
changed
from
May
or
June.

Many
sectors
of
the
economy,
however,
showed
strong
job
gain
—
most
notably
health
care,
state
government
and
local
government.
Jobs
in
the
federal
government
dropped
by
7,000
as

Washington,
D.C.,
continues
to
grapple
with
the
layoffs
initiated
under
Elon
Musk’s
U.S.
DOGE
Service.

“At
first
glance,
this
is
a
good
June
jobs
report
with
solid
job
gains
and
lower
unemployment,”


Navy
Federal
Credit
Union
chief
economist
Heather
Long
said
in
a
statement.
“But
almost
all
of
the
job
gains
came
from
just
two
sectors:
government
and
health
care.

“Hiring
was
anemic
in
other
parts
of
the
economy.
The
job
market
is
in
a
strange
place
right
now.
The
United
States
needs
to
see
a
pickup
in
other
parts
of
the
labor
market
beyond
health
care
and
state
and
local
government.”

Employment
is
just
one
of
many
variables
Fed
Chair
Jerome
Powell
and
other
policymakers
are
weighing
in
their
decision
to
cut
the
federal
funds
rate,
which
would
put
downward
pressure
on

mortgage
rates.
Powell
indicated
this
week
that
the
global

trade
war
initiated
by
President
Donald
Trump
in
April
delayed
a
cut.

The
Trump
administration
hasn’t
responded
kindly.
Trump
and


Federal
Housing
Finance
Agency
(FHFA)
Director
Bill
Pulte
have
regularly
berated
Powell
on
social
media,
demanding
that
he
lower
interest
rates
despite
what
macroeconomic
indicators
say.

On
Wednesday,
Pulte

demanded
an
investigation
of
Powell
after
his
congressional
testimony
about
renovations
made
to
the
Fed’s
headquarters,
saying
that
alleged
inaccuracies
were
enough
to
remove
the
chairman
“for
cause.”