Economists tend to shy away from attaching too much significanceto any one piece of data. But in this environment, with this jobsreport, hyper-scrutiny may be warranted.

When hiring in May eked out its weakest gain in more than fiveyears, the shock was enough to cement the Federal Reserve'sdecision to hold off on raising interest rates. Then came Brexit—theU.K.'s surprise vote to withdraw from the European Union—and globaleconomic anxieties were unleashed.

The June jobs report will therefore take on even more importancethan usual. Economists and policy makers will use it to determinewhether the strongest part of the economy slowed sharply evenbefore concerns over global growth intensified, or if the labormarket was merely hit by a temporary soft patch.