U.S. employers added 147,000 nonfarm jobs in June, comfortably surpassing economists’ projections for about 110,000 new positions, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The stronger-than-expected hiring nudged the unemployment rate down to 4.1% instead of the forecast rise to 4.3%, underscoring continued resilience in the labor market. Public payrolls accounted for 73,000 of the month’s gains, while the private sector contributed 74,000 jobs. Average hourly earnings increased 0.2% from May and 3.7% from a year earlier, both below consensus, and the average workweek shortened to 34.2 hours. Revisions added a net 16,000 positions to April and May figures, lifting May’s total to 144,000. Separate data showed initial jobless claims dipping to 233,000 last week. Although hiring has cooled from the post-pandemic boom, the latest figures suggest the labor market is still expanding despite higher borrowing costs and uncertainty surrounding President Donald Trump’s trade policies. The combination of solid job creation and moderating wage growth may give Federal Reserve officials room to maintain current interest-rate settings while they assess the impact of tariffs and softer demand on inflation.