BY JOSH BOAK , AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Employers in the United States are thought to have kept up their brisk pace of hiring in June, reflecting the durability of the second-longest U.S. economic expansion on record even in the face of a trade war with China.

Economists have estimated that 195,000 jobs were added last month and that the unemployment rate remained at an 18-year low of 3.8 percent, according to data provider FactSet. If, though, the unemployment rate reached 3.7 percent or less in June, it would mark its lowest level since December 1969, when it was 3.5 percent.

The Labor Department’s monthly jobs report will be released at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time Friday.

The broader U.S. economy appears to be on sturdy ground.