While a weaker labor market suggests potential cracks in the U.S. economy, it also could keep the Federal Reserve from hiking interest rates in September.

A summer hiring slump dogged the US labor market in July as the economy unexpectedly lost 23,000 jobs, according to new data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

U.S. economic growth slowed amid a widening in the trade deficit, but consumer spending and business investment pointed to underlying strength.

The U.S. economy expanded at a sluggish 1.5% pace from April through June as rising imports weighed on growth, yet consum

The US economy is continuing to grow faster and generate more new jobs than Europe. Annual national income growth over the past five years has averaged 3.3% in the US against 2.6% in the EU. In the first quarter of 2026,

The U.S. economy expanded at a sluggish 1.5% pace from April through June as rising imports weighed on growth. But consumer spending rose. And the Federal Reserve’s favored measure of inflation grew more slowly last month,

U.S. gross domestic product rose at a 1.5% annual rate in the second quarter, falling short of economists’ expectations.

Episode 306 of the Investopedia Express with Caleb Silver (August 3, 2026)

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he was "sick of hearing" about America's "K-shaped" economic divide.