The United States labour market suffered an unexpected setback in July, with the economy losing 23,000 jobs amid signs that employers are becoming increasingly cautious about hiring.
The latest figures, released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, came well below economists’ expectations of a 95,000-job increase.
Despite the job losses, the unemployment rate fell slightly to 4.1 per cent from 4.2 per cent, as more people exited the labour force.
The July figures represented a sharp deterioration from June, whose employment gains were revised down to 20,000 from the previously reported 57,000.
May’s employment gains were also significantly revised, falling to 66,000 from 129,000.
