U.S. Economy Unexpectedly Lost 23,000 Jobs in July, Signaling a Weakening Labor Market
The July jobs report delivered a surprise loss, putting the Fed in a tough spot between fighting inflation and protecting workers.
Overview
The U.S. economy shed jobs in July, losing 23,000 during the month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest report released Friday. Economists were expecting a gain of 83,000.
The BLS also revised the two prior months lower: May was cut from 129,000 jobs to 63,000, and June from 57,000 to 20,000, a combined 103,000 drop over two months. Average hiring over the past quarter now works out to about 20,000 a month.
Details
The losses were mostly clustered in a few industries. Local government education lost 50,000 jobs, retail trade lost 19,000, and financial activities lost 14,000.
Source
Originally published at www.fool.com.