The Economy Unexpectedly Shed 23,000 Jobs in July—Yet Unemployment Fell to 4.1John Carney 7 Aug 2026
The U.S. economy shed jobs in July even while the unemployment rate fell.
Payrolls across the American economy contracted by 23,000 jobs in July and the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1 percent. The public sector’s payrolls fell sharply, and the services sector hiring was soft, with a large contraction in retail and leisure. The goods-producing side of the economy, however, saw a solid expansion, with both construction and durable goods manufacturing expanding at a rapid pace.
Economists had forecast the economy would add 88,000 jobs and predicted the unemployment rate would hold steady at 4.2 percent. None of the economists surveyed by Econoday predicted a negative figure for the month.
The revisions to prior months suggest job growth was softer than previously thought. The May estimate was revised down by 66,000 to 63,000 added jobs. The June estimate was revised down by 37,000 to just 20,000. Combined, these indicate the economy had 103,000 fewer jobs than previously estimated.
The private sector added 30,000 jobs. The public sector lost 53,000, driven by a nearly 50,000 decline in state and local educational jobs.
Construction was a major source of the private sector’s gains, adding 22,000 jobs. Manufacturing added 5,000, split between a strong gain of 18,000 in durable goods and a loss of 13,000 in nondurable manufacturing.
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https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2026/08/07/america-shed-23000-jobs-in-july-yet-unemployment-fell-to-4-1/