The U.S. economy unexpectedly shed 23,000 jobs in July, undershooting economists’ expectations and signaling the job market may be slowing. 

By the numbers

Economists polled by FactSet forecast employers added 95,000 jobs in July.

The unemployment rate in July stood at 4.1%, down from 4.2% in June.

Hiring remains generally more muted than in the post-pandemic years, when the U.S. economy experienced an employment rebound. Kory Kantenga, the head of economics, Americas, at LinkedIn, described the job market as “slow,” especially for young people.

“There’s not a lot of action. Unemployment is holding steady, but we haven’t seen hiring pick up meaningfully in years,” he told CBS News before the release of Friday’s jobs report.

July data from LinkedIn shows hiring and job postings remained essentially unchanged from June. At the same time, job-seeking intensity — measured by applications per applicant — increased, suggesting competition is increasing for a limited number of roles.

While hiring remains stagnant, layoffs recently hit their lowest level in two years, recent data shows, reinforcing the “low fire, low hire” label economists have used to characterize the labor market. 

Separate data released Thursday shows weekly unemployment claims remain historically low. The four-week average of initial jobless claims dipped below 200,000 for the week ending Aug. 1, marking the first time it has fallen below that threshold since October 2022, according to PNC Economics. 

“Although the hiring rate is low, the unemployment rate remains steady because layoffs are also low,” Fed Governor Lisa Cook said during an event at the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation on Wednesday.