Symbolic imageUS economy sheds 23,000 jobs as hiring figures are revised down
The US economy lost 23,000 jobs in July instead of the 80,000 gains economists had expected, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday. Markets rallied as traders pared bets on a Federal Reserve rate rise.
What happened
- BLS said employment declined in local government, education and retail trade, while health care continued to trend up.
- Hiring in May and June was revised down by a combined 103,000, to 63,000 and 20,000 jobs added.
- Unemployment stood at 4.1 percent and changed little, though the WSJ and Bloomberg headline it as ticking lower.
- Labour force participation fell to 61.4 percent, down 0.7 since January; about 264,000 people left the workforce in July.
- The WSJ reports the dollar hit a seven-week low; Bloomberg reports the yen gained 1 percent and Treasuries rallied.
What could happen next
- The Fed's path is open: the WSJ reports rate-hike odds fell, Bloomberg says bond traders treated the data as decisive.
- July's figure may itself be revised in the coming months, as the May and June corrections show.
- BLS counts 5.9 million people who want a job, including 1.8 million outside the four-week search window and so uncounted as unemployed.