The American job market stumbled a bit in the second quarter, according to a new report from The Conference Board, a non-profit business membership and research group organization. Payrolls increased slightly in Q2, while hirings skyrocketed. Despite these positive numbers, unemployment increased to 4.1 percent in June, but still remains historically low. 

The Conference Board noted that an aging workforce continues to hinder labor force growth. The average has reached pre-pandemic levels, pointing to what The Conference Board said was “no material stress building up in the labor market.” It’s expected that unemployment will top out at 4.4 percent this year if the economy continues to show signs of stabilization. 

Nonfarm payrolls increased to 206,000 in June, down from 218,000 in May, with industries such as the government seeing an increase of 70,000 and construction growing by 27,000. 

Job gains were seen in wholesale trade, information and financial services, while manufacturing, retail, and professional and business services saw layoffs. 

The Conference Board stated that the U.S. labor market is holding up because businesses are retaining workers, adding the "hoarding" largely reflects difficulty finding qualified workers in some industries as Baby Boomers retire and there are fewer younger experienced workers to replace them. 

The report found the U.S. economy continues to soften, but despite this, fewer companies are releasing workers following the effects of “the sting of wage spikes to draw workers back into the labor market during the pandemic recovery,” according to The Conference Board. 

Workers were on the job an average of 34.3 hours in June, according to the report. This is on par with April and May, and within range of pre-pandemic figures, which The Conference Board believes signals that companies are not reducing hours in the face of rising labor costs.