WASHINGTON: The US economy added more jobs than expected in June while the jobless rate edged down, government data showed Thursday, a reassuring sign amid worries that the labor market might weaken rapidly as tariffs weigh on businesses.
Job growth came in at 147,000 last month, said the Department of Labor, while the unemployment rate was 4.1 percent and pay gains were 0.2 percent.
It may be noted that the US President Donald Trump has called for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to resign immediately, escalating his ongoing criticism of the Fed chief. Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, “‘Too Late’ should resign immediately!!!” and included a link to a news article about a US federal housing regulator urging an investigation into Mr Powell regarding his testimony about renovations to the central bank’s Washington headquarters.
Trump, who nominated Powell to lead the Fed during his first term, has repeatedly criticized him for not lowering interest rates, although it remains unclear whether the president has the legal authority to dismiss Powell from his position. Despite these criticisms, Trump previously stated earlier this year that he had no plans to fire Powell.
Trump is pushing for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates to stimulate economic growth. In response, Mr Powell mentioned on Tuesday that the Fed would have already reduced rates if not for the impact of Trump’s tariffs. When asked during a gathering of global central bankers in Portugal whether US interest rates would have been lowered again this year without the administration’s tariff increases, Powell responded, “I think that’s right.”