In the United States, non-farm payrolls added 73,000 jobs in July, with the unemployment rate standing at 4.2%, up 0.1 percentage points from the previous month. Compared with the average monthly increase of over 140,000 jobs in previous months, the above figures were far lower than the general market expectations, which immediately triggered fluctuations in the U.S. financial markets.
Moreover, the U.S. Department of Labor sharply revised down the employment data for May and June: non-farm payrolls added in May were revised down from 144,000 to 19,000, and those in June were revised down from 147,000 to 14,000. The Washington Post pointed out that the total downward revision for May and June was 258,000 jobs, noting that “this revision magnitude is shocking” and “market concerns about a slowdown in the U.S. economy have been further confirmed in the latest employment growth report.”
Data shows that the employment growth in the U.S. in July mainly came from the healthcare and social assistance industries, while the number of federal government jobs continued to decrease. Specifically, the healthcare industry added 55,000 jobs, and the social assistance industry added 18,000 jobs. Federal government employment decreased by 12,000 in July, with a cumulative reduction of 84,000 jobs since January. In terms of wage growth, the average hourly earnings of non-farm employees in the U.S. in July were $36.44, up 0.3% month-on-month and 3.9% year-on-year.
Some experts said that the uncertainty brought about by the U.S. government’s tariff policies has led to an increase in the wait-and-see attitude among U.S. enterprises, and the labor market is deteriorating rapidly.
