(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers likely downshifted their pace of hiring in June, but to a level that remains solid despite heightened fears that the economy faces the growing risk of a recession. The Labor Department is expected to report Friday that the nation gained 275,000 jobs last month. That would be the lowest monthly gain of the past year, during which the job market sustained a vigorous recovery from the pandemic recession. Before the pandemic struck in early 2020, monthly job growth that large would have been seen as a robust gain. The unemployment rate is thought to have remained at 3.6% for a fourth straight month