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US payrolls fell by 23,000 in July, the first decline in months

The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1%, while local government education and retail trade led job losses

A sign at a NYS Department Of Labor job fair at the Downtown Central Library in Buffalo, New York, US, on Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025. (Lauren Petracca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The U.S. economy shed 23,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday, reversing a streak of monthly gains and falling well short of the average monthly gain of 34,000 over the prior 12 months.

The unemployment rate edged down to 4.1% in July from 4.2% in June, with the number of unemployed people falling to 6.9 million. The labor force........

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