US loses 23,000 jobs as labour market slowdown deepens

In the United States, many grown-ups have jobs, and some run businesses.

In July 2026, the country lost 23,000 jobs.

That means fewer people had work than before, which is the opposite of what experts expected.

Experts thought businesses would add 83,000 new jobs, but instead jobs went away.

Even in May and June, more than 100,000 jobs had already disappeared.

The unemployment rate stayed about the same at 4.1 per cent, but that is partly because 720,000 people stopped looking for work.

Schools and shops lost the most workers.

Hospitals and health companies hired more people.

Experts say employers are not firing many workers, but they are also not hiring many new ones.

This makes the job market feel stuck.