Aug. 7 at 8:50 PM
Bank of America said U.S. nonfarm payrolls fell by 23,000 in July, with downward revisions totaling another 103,000 over the prior two months. Private-sector employment rose by 30,000.
The unemployment rate fell to 4.1% from 4.189%, largely due to lower labor-force participation, which slipped to 61.4%. Household employment declined by 87,000, while household unemployment fell by 178,000. Wage growth was weaker than expected at 0.1% month-over-month and 3.2% year-over-year.
Job losses were led by local government education, down 50,000, leisure and hospitality, down 40,000, and financial services, down 14,000. Construction added 22,000 jobs, while professional and business services and healthcare each gained 18,000 and 22,000, respectively.
BofA noted that employment growth averaged 30,000 over the past three months, or 40,000 in the private sector, versus its estimated breakeven pace of 20,000.
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