Washington, Aug. 7 -- The US economy unexpectedly lost 23,000 jobs in July, marking the first monthly decline in employment since February, while the unemployment rate went down to 4.1%, according to data released by the Labor Department on Friday.
The weaker-than-expected report also included sharp downward revisions to previous months' figures, suggesting the labour market may be softer than earlier estimates indicated.
Economists had forecast an increase of around 87,000 jobs during the month.
The Labor Department also revised down the May and June jobs numbers by a combined 103,000, a sign hiring was weaker than previously reported.
One of the key factors in the surprise downfall in jobs was local education, which is susceptible to ...