By Alicia Wallace, CNN

(CNN) — The US job market slowed sharply in July and was substantially weaker than first estimated for prior months, suggesting President Donald Trump’s trade policy may be stifling hiring.

The US economy added just 73,000 jobs last month, and the monthly totals for May and June were revised down by a combined 258,000 jobs.

The prior two months’ revisions were “stunning,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist at KPMG, in an interview with CNN.

May’s estimated 144,000 net gain was revised down by 125,000 to 19,000; and June’s preliminary tally of 147,000 was slashed by 133,000 to 14,000, according to data released Friday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“It’s stalling out right now,” Swonk said of the labor market.

With those monumental, quarter-million-job down

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