WASHINGTON — America’s employers added 73-thousand jobs last month, down from 147-thousand in June. What gains there were came primarily in health care, offset by shrinkage of the federal government workforce. The unemployment rate ticked up a notch to four-point-two percent. The Labor Department reported Friday that revisions shaved a stunning 258,000 jobs off May […]
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US employers added 73,000 jobs last month
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WASHINGTON — America’s employers added 73-thousand jobs last month, down from 147-thousand in June. What gains there were came primarily in health care, offset by shrinkage of the federal government workforce. The unemployment rate ticked up a notch to four-point-two percent.
The Labor Department reported Friday that revisions shaved a stunning 258,000 jobs off May and June payrolls.
Manufacturers cut 11,000 jobs last month after shedding 15,000 in June and 11,000 in May. The federal government, where employment has been targeted by the Trump administration, lost 12,000 jobs. Jobs in administration and support fell by nearly 20,000.
Healthcare companies added 55,400 jobs last month – accounting for 76% of the jobs added in July and offering another sign that recent job gains have been narrowly concentrated.
The department originally reported that state and local governments had added 64,000 jobs in education in June. After the revisions released Friday, that number fell to below 10,000.
The jobs data makes it more likely that Trump will get one thing that he most fervently desires: A cut in short-term interest rates by the Federal Reserve.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell and other Fed officials have repeatedly pointed to a healthy job market as a reason that they could take time to evaluate how Trump’s tariffs were affecting inflation and the broader economy. Now that assessment has been undercut and will put more pressure on the Fed to reduce borrowing costs.
Wall Street investors sharply raised their expectations for a rate cut at the Fed’s next meeting in September after the report was released.
On Wednesday, the Fed left its key rate unchanged for the fifth straight meeting and Powell signaled little urgency to reduce rates anytime soon. He said the “labor market is solid” with “historically low unemployment.” But he also acknowledged there is a “downside risk” to employment stemming from the slow pace of hiring that was evident even before Friday’s weaker numbers.
PHOTO- AP