Wall Street took a dive Friday after a dismal jobs report raised serious concerns about the U.S. economy.
The Labor Department reported that the U.S. added just 73,000 jobs in July, far below the 100,000+ that most economists were expecting. The unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 4.2%. But the real shock came from what the government revealed about the previous two months.
May and June’s job numbers were revised downward by a combined 258,000 jobs. That means the U.S. actually only added 19,000 jobs in May (not the originally reported 144,000) and just 14,000 in June (down from 147,000).
Altogether, the U.S. economy has added only 106,000 jobs over the past three months — a far cry from what’s needed to keep up with growth.
“It is disturbing to say but the chickens are coming home to roost on Donald Trump’s destructive trade war, and the American people are paying the price,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on the Senate floor.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) called the report “unsurprisingly bad.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom didn’t hold back either, saying Trump is “crashing our economy” and warning that “we haven’t seen conditions like these since 2020.”
The weak data sent markets tumbling, as fears of an economic slowdown mounted. Stocks dropped sharply across the board as investors processed the scale of the slowdown.
Adding more uncertainty, Trump announced late Thursday night that higher tariffs will hit dozens of countries that haven’t signed trade deals with the U.S. The new rates will take effect on August 7, just hours after his suspended “reciprocal” tariffs were due to kick in.
With job growth grinding to a near halt, revisions showing earlier months were far weaker than believed, and a volatile trade and monetary policy environment, many are asking: Is the economy heading into serious trouble?
Friday’s numbers didn’t just miss the mark — they rang loud alarm bells.
