US Jobs Growth Stalls as Payrolls Rise Just 57,000
American employers added just 57,000 jobs in June, roughly half what forecasters expected and the weakest month since February, with the two prior months revised lower. Unemployment fell to 4.2% — but only because people stopped looking for work. The dollar dropped on the news, lifting sterling towards $1.34 and helping the FTSE 100 to a two-month high, up 1.7%, while gold rose 1%. Weak American data feeds directly into the rate expectations that set British mortgage pricing.
A cooling US labour market strengthens the case for Federal Reserve rate cuts, which is why bad news for American workers read as good news for markets: rate-sensitive stocks led the FTSE’s rally even as Wall Street’s technology shares extended their sell-off. US 30-year mortgage rates have already slipped to a seven-week low of 6.43%. The detail matters, though — unemployment falling because people leave the labour force is a weak signal dressed as a strong one, and revisions have consistently pointed down. Watch how markets price the Federal Reserve’s July meeting, and whether the Bank of England’s “off the table” stance on cuts softens if the global picture keeps cooling.