The US likely added nearly 98,000 jobs in July, but the labor market remains challenging for the unemployed and young jobseekers. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.

According to the US Labor Department, companies, government agencies, and nonprofits added nearly 98,000 jobs in July, according to the FactSet survey. This is an improvement over the disappointing 57,000 jobs created in June.

It marks a continued rebound from 2025, when the economy generated fewer than 10,000 new jobs a month – the weakest hiring outside a recession since 2002. Last year, high interest rates and uncertainty over President Donald Trump's economic policies discouraged companies from adding staff.

So far in 2026, employers have added an average of 92,000 jobs a month. In the past, that would have been an unimpressive level of hiring. But the United States doesn't need as many jobs as it used to keep the unemployment rate from rising. Trump's immigration crackdown and the ongoing retirement of baby boomers mean fewer people are competing for work. So the "break-even" rate of monthly hiring, 155,000 in 2023-2024, has dropped, perhaps to nearly zero, according to a Federal Reserve study.

However, Americans who have lost their jobs – or are seeking to bust into the job market for the first time – are struggling to catch a break. In May, 27.5% of the unemployed had been out of work for six months, the most in four and a half years; the share dipped slightly but remained high in June.

Economists have used the term "no hire, no fire" to describe the unusual job market conditions. Americans who have jobs are enjoying unusual job security. Layoffs are low by historical standards. Companies, scarred by the surprise labor shortages that followed COVID-19 lockdowns a few years ago, don't want to risk giving up the staff they have.

One week in July, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits dropped to the lowest level in more than 50 years. The jobless rate tumbled to 4.2% in June, the lowest in a year, and is expected to have stayed there last month, according to a survey of forecasters by the data firm FactSet.

Companies in some industries can't find enough workers and have to pay premium wages to fill vacancies. Others are making such efficient use of technology that they don't need to hire much at all. This reflects the mixed and confusing signals in the labor market.