The US added 73,000 jobs in July, falling short of economists’ projections of more than 100,000, and the unemployment rate edged up from 4.1% to 4.2%, the Labor Department reported Aug. 1.
According to the Labor Department, job growth in May and June was also lower than first reported. May’s gains were revised from 144,000 to 19,000, and June’s from 147,000 to 14,000. This represents a combined drop of 258,000 jobs.
Healthcare led July’s gains with roughly 55,000 jobs, well above its 12-month average of 42,000. Retail followed with 15,700 new positions. Hospitality gained 5,000, and transportation and warehousing added 3,600.
Meanwhile, manufacturing lost 11,000 jobs last month. The federal government cut another 12,000 positions and is down 84,000 jobs since January.
Some economists had anticipated a slowdown, blaming President Donald Trump’s shifting trade policies and tariffs for creating uncertainty that is slowing business hiring, according to The Hill.
Trump responded to the report by firing Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Commissioner Erika McEntarfer. In an Aug. 3 Truth Social post, he accused her of inflating job numbers to an “all-time high” to favor Democrats ahead of the 2024 election.
Head of the Bureau of of Labor Statistics did the same thing just before the Presidential Election, when she lifted the numbers for jobs to an all time high. I then won the Election, anyway, and she readjusted the numbers downward, calling it a mistake, of almost one million…
— Trump Truth Social Posts On X (@TrumpTruthOnX) August 3, 2025
McEntarfer was nominated by former President Joe Biden in 2023 and confirmed to lead the BLS on a bipartisan vote in 2024, the Washington Post reported. According to the bureau, job data is collected through surveys of American households, businesses, and government agencies.
On Aug. 4, Trump called the report “RIGGED, just like the numbers prior to the Presidential Election were Rigged,” on Truth Social.
He added, “Those big adjustments were made to cover up, and level out, the FAKE political numbers that were CONCOCTED in order to make a great Republican Success look less stellar!!!”