US Job Growth Slows As July Payrolls Fall by 23,000

The decline was driven by cuts in local government education and retail roles, despite analysts having predicted growth. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also revised down the number of jobs added in May and June by a combined 103,000, signalling a slow summer of job creation. Analysts said the latest figures could reduce pressure on the US central bank, the Federal Reserve, to raise interest rates next month, despite high inflation.

Nancy Vanden Houten, lead economist at Oxford Economics, said expectations of interest rates being raised had been "scaled back" since the Fed's last decision. US stock markets opened higher on Friday following the release of the jobs data, on the prospect that the weaker figures might prevent any rate hikes.