The job market is weaker than previously thought, Friday numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed.
Total nonfarm payroll employment changed little in July, the agency said, with employers adding just 73,000 jobs. The unemployment rate increased slightly, from 4.1% to 4.2%.
Those numbers were accompanied by downward revisions for previous months that BLS characterized as “larger than normal.” Employers were initially believed to have added 144,000 jobs in May, but that number is actually 19,000, the agency said. June’s number was similarly moved from 147,000 to 14,000.
“Today’s jobs report officially ripped the mask off the market,” Laura Ullrich, Indeed’s director of economic research for North America, said in a statement. “The underlying weakness that had been apparent just under the surface came into full view after major downward revisions showed the past few months of seemingly steady jobs growth to be basically nonexistent.”
The data varied by industry, however. Employment continued to trend up in healthcare and social assistance, BLS noted, while the federal government continued to shed jobs.
“The increasing concentration of jobs in certain sectors and an outright contraction of jobs in many others does not bode well for the market going forward,” Ullrich said. “Unemployment remains low, and layoff activity is still muted, but it’s less clear than ever how much longer those saving graces can last.”