US nonfarm payrolls fell by 23,000 in July, a stark miss against the consensus forecast of an 80,000 gain. The unemployment rate, however, edged down to 4.1% from 4.2% in June, while average hourly earnings increased slightly. The Federal Reserve held its policy rate at 3.50% to 3.75% in July, a decision reached by a split vote, reflecting internal tension between officials focused on inflation and those concerned about growth. This mixed-but-stable backdrop gives the Fed room to keep fighting inflation without panicking about a jobs collapse. Benchmark revisions trimmed employment estimates by 79,000 jobs, and earlier revisions to May and June shaved a combined 103,000 jobs from prior estimates.
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