A batch of jobs data scheduled for release this week could help shed light on whether the labor market remains on solid footing halfway through 2026.

Economists say June’s modest job gains point to a stagnant, low-hire labor market where people are continuing to have a hard time finding new jobs.

The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.2 percent, but average hourly earnings were steady, giving Kevin Warsh, the Federal Reserve chairman, room to focus on fighting inflation.

For much of the past 18 months, the labor market has remained largely frozen.

A lackluster June jobs report indicates continued stagnation, but it may not take much for numbers to start slipping into the negatives, experts said.

Hiring slowed sharply in June even as the unemployment rate fell, curbing some of the budding momentum in job growth this year.

Employers added fewer jobs in June than a month earlier but the unemployment rate ticked down, a decent showing for the U.S. economy.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect government data to show the economy added 115,000 jobs in June, with the unemployment rate remaining flat at 4.3% for the fourth consecutive month.

The labor market may be rousing from its slumber.

Anthropic’s head of economics Peter McCrory discusses what the company’s latest research can tell us about AI’s effects on the broader job market.

By Ann Saphir June 22 (Reuters) - Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee said on Monday that with the labor market stable, he is focused on figuring out whether too-high inflation will stay that way or if it will recede as the effect of high tariffs fades and if the conflict in the Middle East gets resolved.

The U.S. labor market is losing momentum, but not collapsing. Nonfarm payrolls rose by only 57,000, previous months were revised lower, and hiring has clearly slowed.