The June US jobs report led with a softer-than-expected non-farm payroll growth number of 57,000 (consensus 113k) with 74,000 downward revisions to the past two months. The unemployment rate dipped to 4.2% from 4.3%, but this was primarily caused by a big drop in the participation rate to 61.5% from 61.8% – ie not a good reason since it highlights worker disengagement. In fact, the details show the number of people employed falling by half a million, while the number of people unemployed fell 213k, meaning more than 700k left the workforce. Worryingly, the bulk of the pain was seen in prime age workers – those aged ... (full story)