The U.S. economy added 73,000 jobs in July, the Department of Labor said Friday, and the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2 percent. This was far short of expectations.
Economists had forecast employers would add 104,000 workers to payrolls and the unemployment rate would rise to 4.2 percent, with estimates ranging from zero to 140,000. Prior to the release of the official figures, however, many Wall Street traders were saying they believed the consensus estimate was too high.
In the prior month, employers were initially reported to have added 147,000 and the unemployment rate was reported to have dropped to 4.1 percent. Downward revisions reduced that figure to just 14,000.
“Too Little, Too Late. Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell is a disaster. DROP THE RATE! The good news is that Tariffs are bringing Billions of Dollars into the USA!” President Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
Private payrolls rose by 83,000. The services sector added 96,000 workers. Most of those jobs, however, were in healthcare and social assistance, so-called government-adjacent sectors. These added 73,000 jobs in July. The tech-heavy information sector shed 2,000 jobs. Wholesale trade contracted and retail trade expanded. The financial sector added 15,000 jobs. Professional and business services employment dropped by 15,000.