Employers in the US added more jobs than forecast in June, fueling a debate over how quickly the Federal Reserve will loosen policy as a near-final federal budget adds some clarity to the outlook. The Labor Department said there were 147,000 new jobs last month, up from 144,000 in May and well above the consensus estimate of 110,000, while the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1% from 4.2%. The jobs report comes on the heels of a disappointing private payroll reading from ADP, which said private-sector employers shed 33,000 jobs in June for the first monthly decline since March 2023. Economic indicators will be in focus this summer as markets attempt to gauge the Fed’s potential path toward a lower policy rate. Interest rate futures signal that investors anticipate at least two rate cuts by the end of the year, based on the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool. Fed Chair Jay Powell, who spoke at a European Central Bank conference on Tuesday, said officials will be patient as they monitor updates on US tariffs and assess their impact on prices. The policy outlook became a little clearer as lawmakers advanced Republican-led legislation—dubbed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act—to cut taxes and spending.

A key question facing the Fed is how much and how long a potential jump in tariffs will reignite broader inflation. There also may be a growing debate around whether interest rates should be cut to fend off troubles in the labor market that could arise as businesses navigate an uncertain environment. In his Tuesday remarks, Powell said the Fed likely would have remained on track to gradually cut rates this year if tariff-related risks had not entered the equation. Amid an evolving outlook, Jennison’s Head of Global Equity Mark Baribeau shares why companies rooted in durable trends are likely well-positioned to thrive through ongoing uncertainty.