U.S. Loses 23,000 Jobs in July as Local Government Sheds 57,000
Updated
Updated · Marketplace · Aug 7
U.S. Loses 23,000 Jobs in July as Local Government Sheds 57,000
3 articles · Updated · Marketplace · Aug 7
Summary
Local government, leisure and hospitality, finance, and retail drove July’s 23,000 U.S. job loss, with K-12 education accounting for nearly 50,000 of the local-government decline.
Three-month average job growth has slowed to just 20,000 after steep revisions, underscoring a labor market that is no longer adding enough jobs to absorb new and returning workers.
Economists tied the sector losses to different pressures: possible seasonal-adjustment distortions in school hiring, Education Department funding cuts, a weak housing market and high mortgage rates, and some AI-related back-office reductions.
Leisure and retail cuts also point to softer household demand, with inflation outpacing wage gains and employers trimming headcounts as they brace for more frugal consumer spending into the fall.