ANKARA
A weak report on U.S. employment Thursday could delay Federal Reserve plans for an interest rate hike this year.
Employment growth slowed in the U.S. in June. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 223,000 last month, the U.S. Labor Department said, well below analyst forecasts of 260,000. April and May data were revised down by 60,000 jobs as well.
The labor force participation rate also fell sharply: 432,000 people dropped out of the labor force. The rate fell to 62.6 percent, the weakest level since October 1977.
The drop in the number of people seeking a job drove the unemployment rate down two-tenths of a percentage point to 5.3 percent. While that is the lowest rate since April 2008, it is not a reduction based on more people going to work.
Average hourly wages were unchanged from the previous month.
Weak employment data are indicators that the Fed takes into account when determining an interest rate rise. Governor Janet Yellen said in June that the central bank would have to see improved performance in jobs and wages before hiking rates.
But Yellen said there would be a rate rise before the end of this year; however, the weak levels of employment could put the rate hike on hold until year-end.
