The July jobs report came in badly, a bad sign for workers and the overall economy.

• The US lost 23,000 jobs in July instead of the 80,000 gain expected, and past months were revised down sharply.
• The unemployment rate ticked down, but for a bad reason — over 260,000 people gave up looking for work, pushing labor force participation to a five-year low.
• Wages grew only 3.2%, less than inflation, so workers are again falling behind — much like the pattern that helped sink Democrats in 2024.
• Inflation jumped after Trump launched the Iran war, on top of tariffs, leaving the Fed stuck: cutting rates could fuel more inflation.
• Almost all the job growth came from healthcare; the rest of the economy shed jobs, with hospitality, local government, and education hit hardest.

Outlook: Trump will likely push harder for rate cuts, but with inflation still hot the Fed has little room to move, and a weak job market looks set to persist.