US job market loses 23,000 in July 2026, unemployment 4.1%
July 2026 was a tough month for the US job market: 23,000 jobs disappeared instead of the expected gain.
Economists had hoped for an increase of 83,000, so this drop caught many by surprise.
Plus, earlier job numbers for May and June were cut back by another 74,000.
Even so, the unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%, which is a small relief.
Job openings fall to 7.4 million
Private-sector hiring slowed down too: only 44,000 new jobs showed up in July compared to more than double that in June.
Health care and social assistance saw their biggest decline in job openings since last year, down by 147,000. Overall job openings fell to 7.4 million.
Meanwhile, people are spending slightly more (up 0.3% in June), but personal savings hit a four-year low at just 2.7%.
Inflation is creeping up again, now at an annual rate of 3.5%, so economists and Federal Reserve officials are watching closely for what comes next.