# US employers cut 23,000 jobs in July; prior hiring revised down 2026-08-07T14:03:03+00:00 | World & Diplomacy | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet US nonfarm payrolls fell by 23,000 in July, a sharp miss of the Dow Jones forecast of an 83,000 gain. The Bureau of Labour Statistics also slashed 103,000 jobs from the combined May and June counts, deepening concerns that the American labour market is weakening faster than earlier thought. The unemployment rate dropped to 4.1 per cent from 4.2 per cent, but only because 264,000 people left the workforce, the participation rate slid to 61.4 per cent, the lowest since February 2021. The downturn was led by cuts in local government education, leisure and hospitality, and retail. Private payrolls eked out a 30,000 rise, led by healthcare. The Hindustan Times and New Indian Express both highlight the Iran war's squeeze on energy prices, while Times Now notes traders now doubt a September Fed rate hike. Average hourly earnings grew 3.2 per cent year-on-year, the slowest pace in over five years. ## Coverage - timesnownews.com - hindustantimes.com - newindianexpress.com Tags: Federal Reserve, interest rates, jobs data, labour market, nonfarm payrolls, US economy Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/us-employers-cut-23000-jobs-in-july-hiring-revised-down/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/us-employers-cut-23000-jobs-in-july-hiring-revised-down/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.