Unemployment Rate Hits Highest Level Since 2021

The unemployment rate rose to 4.3% in July, the highest since October 2021, leading to concerns over the economy, stock market losses, and plunging Treasury yields.

The Details: The U.S. Labor Department released an employment situation summary Friday that outlined lower-than-expected job growth and sparked concerns over the future of the economy. The summary showed nonfarm payrolls grew by only 114,000, which is roughly 62% lower than the Dow Jones estimate for the month.

For Context: Stock futures fell, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling more than 800 points. The elevated unemployment rate over the past three months caused the Sahm rule to come into effect, which is an early recession indicator that has only ever shown one false positive.

Key Quotes: Becky Frankiewicz, president of the ManpowerGroup employment agency, said, “Temperatures might be hot around the country, but there’s no summer heatwave for the job market.”

How the Media Covered It: Media across the spectrum showed many similarities in coverage, with many simply spelling out what the jobs report said and the economy's reaction. Outlets on the right, like Fox Business (Lean Right bias), were more likely to allude to ongoing inflation and high interest rates. Outlets on the left, like CNN Business (Lean Left bias), pointed to the historic expansion of the Labor Market, while also recognizing that growth has been seen only in a few sectors of the market.