Employers across the U.S. added 73,000 jobs in July, a slowdown from previous months and a sign the labor market is downshifting.

The numbers

Hiring was weaker than expected by economists, who had forecast payroll gains of 115,000 jobs last month, according to a poll by FactSet. July's employment number is the lowest of 2025.

The unemployment rate rose to 4.2%, up from 4.1% in June.

The Labor Department also sharply revised job growth for May and June down by a combined 258,000, a sign that hiring earlier this year was weaker than previously estimated. With the revisions, the figures show that the private sector added only 3,000 jobs in June.

Factoring in the downward revisions, the three-month average employment gain from May to June was 35,000, compared to an average of 123,000

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