American Economy Shed 23,000 Jobs in July

The U.S. economy shed 23,000 jobs in July, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Friday.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had projected 80,000 job gains in July. The BLS reported that employment “declined in local government, education, and retail trade” but “continued to trend up in health care.”

Hiring numbers for the months of May and June, meanwhile, were revised downward by a combined 103,000 jobs — to 63,000 and 20,000 jobs added, respectively.

The unemployment rate, currently at 4.1 percent, changed little in July, while labor force participation is down 0.7 since January, to 61.4 percent. 

About 264,000 people left the labor force in July, and people who are no longer in the workforce are not categorized as “unemployed” under BLS methodology. A further 5.9 million Americans want a job, according to BLS, including 1.8 million who had searched within the past year but not in the four weeks the survey requires.