Stories

Fri, 07 Aug 2026

Fri, 07 Aug 2026 Surprise fall in US jobs last month as slow summer continues

Analysts had expected an uptick in the number of jobs created, but the number of roles fell by 23,000 in July.

* US economy created fewer jobs than expected with a loss of 23,000 jobs last month
* Analysts had predicted an increase of 80,000 jobs
* Declines were driven by cuts in local government education and retail roles
* Unemployment rate dipped to 4.1% from 4.2%
* Average hourly earnings rose by 3.2% in the year to July, lower than expected 3.5%
* Labor force participation is back at levels seen during Covid-19 pandemic, indicating a weak jobs market
* Weaker data may reduce pressure on Federal Reserve to raise interest rates next month
* Interest rates were left unchanged between 3.5% and 3.75% last month