The U.S. economy added jobs in July – though it was at a slower pace than in the last several months as uncertainty over economic conditions mounted.
The Labor Department on Friday reported that employers added 73,000 jobs in July, a figure that was cooler than the 110,000 gain that was the estimate of economists polled by LSEG.
The unemployment rate ticked slightly higher to 4.2%, in line with LSEG economists' estimate.
Job gains in the prior two months were both revised, with job creation in May revised downward by 125,000 from a gain of 144,000 to 19,000; and June job gains were revised down by 133,000 from a gain of 147,000 to 14,000. Taken together, employment in May and June was 258,000 lower than previously reported, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics noted were "larger than normal" revisions.
Private sector payrolls rose by 83,000 in July, below the 100,000 job gain projected by LSEG.
Government payrolls declined by 10,000 in July. The decrease was driven by a reduction of 12,000 jobs in the federal government, which has seen payrolls decline by 84,000 since its January peak. Employees on paid leave or receiving ongoing severance pay are counted as employed in the BLS' establishment survey.
State government added 5,000 jobs and local government had employment decline by 3,000 jobs in July.