Hiring abruptly slowed in July as employers added 114,000 new jobs, far fewer than economists had forecast, while the unemployment rate jumped to 4.3%.
Economists surveyed by FactSet had expected 175,000 new jobs and forecast that unemployment would remain steady at 4.1%. In June, businesses had added 179,000 new hires, according to the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
The Fed on Wednesday left its benchmark interest rate unchanged, as expected, but Chair Jerome Powell signaled the central bank could begin cutting borrowing costs in September so long as inflation continues to abate. Job growth has slowed in the last several months, which Powell described as healthy, yet added officials are closely monitoring the labor market for signs of weakness.
U.S. stocks stumbled on Thursday after a larger-than-expected jump in weekly jobless claims had investors fretting about future growth. Stock futures on Friday signaled another decline, down 1%.
—This is breaking news and will be updated.
