Jobs report face-plants: US economy sheds 23,000 roles in July
The US economy didn't just miss expectations in July, it went backwards, losing 23,000 jobs when economists predicted 83,000 gained. Unemployment barely moved (4.1%), but the real gut punch is the BLS quietly slashing May and June's job totals by a combined 103,000. Add stalling wage growth (3.2% annually, under inflation) and the lowest labor force participation since 2021, and you've got a labor market that's less "resilient" and more "holding on by a thread," per one chief economist who called it flat out bleak.
Turns out the economy's four month hot streak was just a fever, not a comeback.