• Updated

U.S. employers unexpectedly cut 23,000 jobs last month, and Labor Department revisions shaved 103,000 jobs off payrolls in May and June. The unemployment rate dipped to 4.1% only because Americans left the job market. The July jobs numbers from the Labor Department Friday marked a sharp reversal for the American labor market and amount to a political setback for President Donald Trump less than three months before his Republican party seeks to keep full control of Congress in the upcoming midterm election. Forecasters had expected job creation to approach 100,000 last month.