By Myriam LEMETAYER The United States created half as many jobs as expected in June, and even lost some in the hospitality sector despite the World Cup being largely played on American soil.
By Myriam LEMETAYER
The United States created half as many jobs as expected in June, and even lost some in the hospitality sector despite the World Cup mostly taking place on American soil.
According to a report from the Department of Labor released on Thursday, 57,000 jobs were created last month. Investors were expecting around 110,000.The surprise came from the leisure and hospitality sector, which lost 61,000 jobs during the period.
It’s unusual for the season, especially at a time when the country is hosting numerous World Cup 2026 matches.
The first match took place on June 13 in Los Angeles. FIFA boasts of packed stadiums.
It’s “the biggest blow” in the employment report considering “the excitement around the World Cup,” notes EY economist Gregory Daco.
The figure raises eyebrows for Jamie Cox, a financial advisor at Harris Financial Group, who says there’s “no way” hotels, bars, and restaurants would have fewer employees “right in the middle of the World Cup.”
He expects the numbers to be revised upward later.
Thursday’s report also includes its usual batch of revisions for the past months. Job growth in April and May is lower than previously calculated.
White House teams have described the labor market as “strong thanks to the president Donald Trump’s economic program,” highlighting the 11,000 jobs created in June in the construction sector.
On the other hand, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren pointed out that the world’s largest economy has created an average of 37,000 jobs per month “since President Trump took office (…) far behind the 120,000 monthly jobs in 2024” under Joe Biden.
Fewer workers, more robots?
In any case, unemployment remains low, at 4.2%.
Economists note that this is largely explained by the fact that fewer people are looking for work.
More than 700,000 people disappeared from the workforce between May and June: they may have retired or given up looking for a job due to lack of opportunities…This also reflects “what’s going on in terms of immigration,” Wendy Edelberg, a macroeconomics expert at the Brookings Institution, told AFP, referring to the Trump administration’s very strict and tough policies toward foreigners.
“There are fewer of us, we have fewer people in the labor market (…) we simply have a smaller economy,” she points out.
According to her, job growth remains “low (…) because employers are getting used to doing more with fewer workers.”
The disruptions linked to artificial intelligence (AI) add another layer of uncertainty by raising questions about the jobs and skills that will be needed in the future.
As fears of massive job cuts have intensified, AI adoption is proving to be more gradual and costly than many had expected, notes Gregory Daco from EY.
“Companies are increasingly using it to improve productivity and control labor costs, but so far, this technology seems to be reinforcing selective hiring rather than triggering large-scale layoffs,” he adds.
In the short term, Wendy Edelberg explains, some companies are hiring because they’re involved in building huge data centers, while others are waiting to see. “But we’re starting to hear some say that it’s the main reason that pushed them to lay off staff.”
