• The economy lost 23,000 jobs in July, far short of the 83,000 gain that was expected, and past months were revised down by another 103,000.
• The unemployment rate actually fell to 4.1%, but only because more people gave up looking for work and stopped being counted.
• Wages grew slower than prices, so the average worker is effectively taking a pay cut as living costs rise faster than pay.
• AI is now the top reason for job cuts, driving heavy layoffs in tech even though the technology is still losing money.
• Stocks rallied because a weak job market pushes the Fed toward cheap money, and the odds of a September rate hike dropped from 67% to about 52%.

Outlook: This week's inflation report will shift the odds again, but a rate hike in September looks unlikely, partly due to political pressure on the Fed.