The U.S. unemployment rate rose to 4.3% in July, with job growth numbers falling significantly short of government targets.
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released on Friday revealed that only 114,000 jobs were added in July, a steep decline from the 185,000 anticipated by analysts.
Moreover, unemployment reached its highest point since October 2021, according to the Daily Wire.
“The unemployment rate rose by 0.2 percentage points to 4.3% in July, and the number of unemployed people increased by 352,000 to 7.2 million,” the BLS report states. “These measures are higher than a year earlier, when the jobless rate was 3.5% and the number of unemployed people was 5.9 million.”
The BLS noted that Hurricane Beryl, which impacted Texas on July 7, did not contribute to the rise in unemployment. “Hurricane Beryl had no discernible effect on the national employment and unemployment data for July, and the response rates for the two surveys were within normal ranges,” the bureau stated.
The data showed that unemployment increased among men and white individuals. “Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (4.0%) and Whites (3.8%) increased in July. The jobless rates for adult women (3.8%), teenagers (12.4%), Blacks (6.3%), Asians (3.7%), and Hispanics (5.3%) showed little or no change over the month,” the report said.
E.J. Antoni, an economist for the Heritage Foundation, indicated that Americans have faced job losses since 2023. On Friday, Antoni noted that over the past year, native-born Americans have lost more than 1 million jobs, while employment for foreign-born individuals has grown.
“Over the last year, native-born Americans have LOST 1.2 million jobs while foreign-born employment has increased 1.3 million; we’re just swapping out American workers at this point, not growing the pie for everyone,” Antoni said.
While jobs in the information industry declined, employment expanded in several sectors, including healthcare, construction, and transportation and warehouse industries, as reported by the Daily Wire. Employment in the information industry was reduced by 20,000, while 55,000 jobs were added in healthcare, 14,000 in transportation, and 25,000 in construction.
The report prompted some members of Congress to express concerns about the economy’s future, especially as inflation continues to impact consumers.
Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) criticized the Biden administration for the rising unemployment rate and urged voters to reject Vice President Kamala Harris in November to achieve a stronger U.S. economy. “We must replace Kamalanomics with MAGAnomics if we want to avoid a recession! Choose wisely in November!” Banks said.
Banks’ comments echoed those of economist John Lonski, who expressed his belief that the country could be heading toward a recession during an interview on Fox Business. “I’m beginning to smell a recession coming into view… this jump by the unemployment rate, my goodness, 4.3%, this is up sharply from not long ago,” Lonski said.
Under President Joe Biden, inflation has increased, and the economy has weakened. Many on the right attribute these issues to the president’s economic policies, often referred to as “Bidenomics.”