US employers cut 23,000 jobs in July as hiring slowdown deepens
What's new: May and June payrolls were revised down by 103,000, easing pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise rates in September.
US employers cut 23,000 jobs in July, an unexpected drop that added to signs the labor market weakened over the summer. The Labor Department also revised May and June job gains down by a combined 103,000. Losses were concentrated in local government education, retail, restaurants and other service roles, while construction, factories and health care still added workers. The unemployment rate edged down to 4.1% from 4.2%, but that came as more than 260,000 people left the workforce. Average hourly earnings rose 3.2% from a year earlier to $37.62, below expectations. The softer report may make the Federal Reserve more cautious about raising interest rates again as it weighs a cooling labor market against inflation running at 3.5%.