Share to ClassroomUS Lost 23,000 Jobs in July
New figures show the United States lost 23,000 jobs in July. This was a surprise. Economists had expected about 80,000 new jobs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is the government office that counts jobs. It also said May and June were worse than first reported, by 103,000 jobs. The unemployment rate fell a little, from 4.2% to 4.1%. But this happened only because more than 260,000 people stopped looking for work.
Some parts of the economy lost many jobs. Local government schools lost 50,000 jobs. Hotels and restaurants lost 40,000, and shops lost 19,000. Building companies added 22,000 jobs. Health care added 22,000, but that is fewer than usual. People do not agree about the news. The White House said its plans were working, because unemployment fell and factories were busy. But Glassdoor, a jobs website, said worker confidence was at its lowest level ever.
Now everyone is watching the Federal Reserve (the Fed), the American central bank. Prices are still rising by 3.5% a year, but the job market is getting weaker. The Fed must choose between these two problems. The Fed kept interest rates between 3.5% and 3.75%. Experts now think the Fed will probably not raise rates in September. Pay rose 3.2% in a year, which is probably too slow to keep up with prices.
