WASHINGTON —

The U.S. labor market is showing signs of cooling, with only 22,000 positions added last month, far below expectations, and the unemployment rate climbing to 4.3%, the highest level since the pandemic.

Labor Department revisions also showed June's job total was negative, with employers cutting 13,000 positions, another first since the pandemic.

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"U.S. labor market deterioration intensified in August,’' Scott Anderson, chief U.S. economist at BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a commentary, noting that hiring was “slumping dangerously close to stall speed. This raises the risk of a harder landing for consumer spending and the economy in the months ahead."

Factories and construction companies, which often re

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