US employers unexpectedly shed jobs as unemployment rate falls

In July, American employers hired fewer workers than anyone expected.

In fact, employers cut 23,000 jobs, meaning fewer people had jobs at the end of the month.

The numbers for May and June were also adjusted to show fewer jobs than first reported.

Even though jobs were lost, the unemployment rate went down to 4.1 out of every 100 workers.

That sounds strange, but it happened because fewer people were looking for work.

People who kept their jobs got smaller raises, with pay growing only 3.2 percent compared with a year before, the slowest increase in more than five years.

Most job losses came from government, hotels, restaurants, and stores, though private companies added 30,000 jobs.

Big companies like Microsoft, Uber, and Visa announced layoffs during the month.

The news might make the Federal Reserve wait before raising interest rates, but new reports about prices could change the plan.