US employers added just 73,000 jobs last month as labor market weakens in face of Trump trade wars

WASHINGTON — U.S. employers added just 73,000 jobs last month and Labor Department revisions showed that hiring was much weaker than previously reported in May and June. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2%. The unexpectedly weak report raises questions about the health of the job market and the economy as President Donald Trump pushes forward with a radical and erratic overhaul of American trade policy, imposing hefty tariffs on imports from almost every country on earth. The Labor Department reported Friday that revisions shaved a stunning 258,000 jobs off May and June payrolls. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2% last month from 4.1% in June. The number of people in the labor force – those working and looking for work – fell modestly last month, and the ranks of the unemployed rose by 221,000. Manufacturers cut 11,000 jobs last month after shedding 15,000 in June and 11,000 in May. The federal government, where employment has been targeted by the Trump administration, lost 12,000 jobs. Jobs in administration and support fell by nearly 20,000. Healthcare companies added 55,400 jobs last month – accounting for 76% of the jobs added in July and offering another sign that recent job gains have been narrowly concentrated. The department originally reported that state and local governments had added 64,000 jobs in education in June. After the revisions released Friday, that number fell to below 10,000. The stock market tumbled on the news. The weak jobs data makes it more likely that Trump will get one thing that he most fervently desires: A cut in short-term interest rates by the Federal Reserve, which often -- though not always -- can lead to lower rates for mortgages, car loans, and credit cards. Fed Chair Jerome Powell and other Fed officials have repeatedly pointed to a healthy job market as a reason that they could take time to evaluate how Trump's tariffs were affecting inflation and the broader economy. Now that assessment has been undercut and will put more pressure on the Fed to reduce borrowing costs. Wall Street investors sharply raised their expectations for a rate cut at the Fed's next meeting in September after the report was released. On Wednesday, the Fed left its key rate unchanged for the fifth straight meeting and Powell signaled little urgency to reduce rates anytime soon. He said the "labor market is solid" with "historically low unemployment." But he also acknowledged there is a "downside risk" to employment stemming from the slow pace of hiring that was evident even before Friday's weaker numbers. The current situation is a sharp reversal from the hiring boom of just three years ago when desperate employers were handing out signing bonuses and introducing perks such as Fridays off, fertility benefits and even pet insurance to recruit and keep workers. Weighing on the job market are the lingering effects of higher interest rates that were used by the Federal Reserve to fight inflation; Trump's massive import taxes and the costs and uncertainty they are imposing on businesses; and an anticipated drop in foreign workers as the president's massive deportation plans move forward. The rate of people quitting their jobs — a sign they're confident they can land something better — has fallen from the record heights of 2021 and 2022 and is now below where it stood before the pandemic.