U.S. Employment Market Update

The U.S. employment market continued to show resilience in June, as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced the addition of 206,000 jobs. This figure, although slightly lower than May’s revised 218,000 jobs, surpassed economist expectations of 190,000.

The unemployment rate saw a marginal increase in June, rising to 4.1% from May’s 4.0%, slightly higher than the projected 4.0%. Additionally, average hourly earnings experienced a 0.3% increase, in line with forecasts and slightly below May’s 0.4% growth. On a year-over-year basis, earnings were up by 3.9%, meeting expectations but lower than the previous month’s 4.1% rise.

Bitcoin Performance

Following the employment data release, the price of bitcoin (BTC) saw a minor dip to $55,300. This decrease, however, was insignificant considering the recent 10% decline over the past 48 hours due to factors such as Mt. Gox repayments and German government sales impacting the market.

Market Expectations

Before the data release, market sentiment indicated a minimal probability of a U.S. Federal Reserve rate cut at the July 31 meeting, but a more than 70% likelihood of rate adjustments at the mid-September meeting, as per the CME FedWatch tool. Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s recent comments leaned towards a dovish stance, suggesting that while inflation is a concern, a weaker job market might take precedence in the central bank’s decision-making process regarding monetary policy.