US economy adds 206,000 June jobs as labor market cools slightly

Number is close to what was expected, as unemployment rate creeps above 4% for first time in two years

The labor market started to ease in June, with 206,000 jobs added to the US economy last month, according to new labor data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The number of new jobs is close to what economists had expected for the month. The figures represent a slight cooling compared to May, when the economy added a revised 218,000 jobs.