[Employment Growth Slows, Indicating Limited Pressure on Fed to Tighten Policy] Jin10 News, July 2 – Following the release of the latest employment data by the U.S. government, markets on Thursday bet that the Federal Reserve has significantly less justification to raise interest rates later this month due to a notable slowdown in employment growth. The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics released its closely watched employment report on Thursday, showing that nonfarm payrolls increased by 57,000 in June. This figure is roughly half of economists' expectations. Additionally, May's employment growth data was revised down from the initially reported 172,000 to 129,000. Seema Shah, Chief Global Strategist at Principal Asset Management, wrote: 'The slowdown in employment growth challenges the expectations of a labor market recovery in recent months, but more importantly, it reinforces the view that the Federal Reserve faces limited pressure to tighten policy.' Short-term interest rate futures traders now estimate the probability of a rate hike in July has fallen below 20%, though they still see a higher likelihood of a rate hike in September.