What’s going on here? The US economy worked overtime in June, punching in with 147,000 new jobs – despite expectations that it was ready for a coffee break. What does this mean? Economists were bracing for worse, forecasting a comparatively meager 106,000 new jobs. And they were likely caught off guard by the revisions made to April and May’s tallies, too. The Labor Department added another 16,000 positions to those months, marking four in a row of stronger-than-expected hiring. The unemployment rate also flashed green, dipping to 4.1% from 4.2% – though that was mostly because 130,000 workers left the labor force. Why should I care? Zooming out: When good news hides the slow unraveling. The report looks pretty strong at first glance, but dig deeper and cracks appear. Along with the jobless rate only falling because fewer people were job hunting, long-term unemployment surged by 190,000 and average hours worked hit a post-2021 low. Most new jobs came from sectors like public education and healthcare – which are steady, but not exactly growth engines. Meanwhile, Wall Street’s other key jobs tracker showed that private sector payrolls fell in June – by 33,000, with small businesses doing most of the cutting. It’s not a total disaster, but the softer data does keep whispering that the labor market’s losing steam… The bigger picture: Meet your new AI coworkers. Corporate leaders are coming out and saying it: AI-driven white-collar job cuts are about to pick up speed. Ford’s CEO thinks that half the firm’s office jobs could disappear. JPMorgan says it’s prepping for a 10% overall trim. Microsoft just laid off 9,000 staff, flattening teams and cutting layers. And Shopify won’t approve new hires unless a manager proves that AI can’t do the job. June’s jobs numbers might look fine on the surface, but they’re missing the blatant AI reshuffle that’s unfolding in boardrooms – and possibly heading your way. | 
