Prior to the report, markets were split on whether the Fed would hike rates at its next policy meeting in September.

U.S. employers cut 23,000 jobs in July, and job gains for the two previous months were weaker than initially reported, according to a report Friday from the Labor Department.

A summer hiring slump dogged the US labor market in July as the economy unexpectedly lost 23,000 jobs, according to new data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.