U.S. Jobs Fall In July

Political and media defenders are dodging inconvenient labor-market data and putting a partisan gloss on a clearly weak report. The explanations ignore the facts, ordinary workers’ struggles, and clear signs that the job market is weakening.

The July jobs report is a serious disappointment and shows that the labor market is losing momentum. Job losses, downward revisions, and tepid hiring make Trump’s claims of a booming or best-ever economy untenable.

The headline jobs and unemployment figures cannot be taken at face value. Payroll losses may overstate weakness, while the unemployment improvement may be misleading if people are leaving the workforce instead of finding jobs.

The bad jobs report damages Republicans politically by undercutting Trump’s economic sales pitch. A weak, stagnant labor market gives opponents a potent argument heading into the midterm elections.