U.S. employers likely downshifted their pace of hiring in June, but to a level that remains solid despite fears that the economy faces the growing risk of a recession . On Friday, the Labor Department is expected to report that the nation gained 275,000 jobs last month, according to economists surveyed by the data provider FactSet. That would be the lowest monthly gain of the past year, during which the job market has sustained a vigorous recovery from the pandemic recession. Before the pandemic struck in early 2020, monthly hiring that large would have been seen as a robust gain. The unemployment rate in June is thought to have remained at 3.6% for a fourth straight month, just above a 50-year low reached in 2019. If the projections prove accurate, it will underscore the U.S. economy’s unusual and seemingly contradictory circumstances. Growth has been negative for […]