The June jobs report revealed a healthy addition of 206,000 jobs, but also indicated a significant cooling off in the labor market. 'If you're rooting for the Fed to start cutting interest rates, this was a very good jobs report,' said Greg McBride of Bankrate.com. The number of jobs added in June exceeded expectations but decreased from May. The unemployment rate rose to 4.1%, marking the first time it has reached this level since 2021.
The central bank released its bi-annual policy report on Friday, stating that it needs greater confidence that inflation is continuing to move lower before it begins lowering interest rates. 'On the inflation front, shelter costs have really been the one problem area,' McBride said. If it weren't for shelter costs, inflation would be running below the Federal Reserve's target of 2%.