The increase from 4.1% to 4.3% in June marks the fourth consecutive monthly increase
The U.S. unemployment rate rose for a fourth straight month in July to 4.3%, up from 4.1% the previous month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. reported on Friday. The number is the highest since the start of the pandemic.
The U.S. added just 114,000 jobs last month, down from 206,000 in June and well below the 215,000 jobs per month added over the past 12 months, the data showed. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the number to rise by 175,000.
The number of unemployed people in the U.S. rose by 352,000 to 7.2 million, a notable increase from the 5.9 million recorded a year earlier, when the unemployment rate was 3.5%.
While several sectors still posted job gains—most notably health care—the magnitude of job gains continued to decline, with 49.6% of industries reporting an increase in employment, down from 56.0% in June.
Average hourly earnings rose 0.2% in July after rising 0.3% the previous month. In the 12 months through July, wages rose 3.6%, marking the slowest annual growth since May 2021 and leaving wage growth just above the 3.0%-3.5% range seen as consistent with the Fed’s 2% inflation target.
Hiring may have been disrupted by Hurricane Beryl, which dealt a blow to the Texas economy last month, some analysts believe. Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter, told the AP that employers could have cut workers’ hours and made temporary layoffs, suggesting they are nonetheless optimistic that a rate cut could help turn things around.
Friday’s report added more fuel to growing concerns that the Federal Reserve waited too long to cut rates. On Wednesday, the Fed opted to keep its benchmark interest rate in the 5.25%-5.50% range, where it has been for more than a year.
Fed Chairman Jay Powell has indicated the first rate cut of the post-pandemic era could come in September. Economists surveyed by Reuters also expect rate cuts in November and December.
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