Economy: US job market shrinks surprisingly in July
The US job market weakened in July contrary to expectations. Companies created 23,000 fewer jobs. This is likely to have an impact on interest rate expectations.
In July, the US labor market experienced a surprising cooling effect, shedding 23,000 positions outside of agriculture, according to a government report released on Friday. Economists polled by the news agency Reuters had expected job growth of 80,000. June data, revised afterward, showed only a 20,000 job increase, originally reported at 57,000.
The separate unemployment rate decreased in July to 4.1%, down from 4.2% in June. The US Federal Reserve, which aims for full employment and stable prices, has been closely monitoring the labor market. They maintained the federal funds rate within the range of 3.50 to 3.75% and recently announced that job growth remains sluggish, with the unemployment rate showing signs of stabilization. Inflation remains higher than previously reported.
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