Overview

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported just 73,000 jobs added in July, with May and June employment figures revised downward by a combined 258,000 positions.
• Moody’s Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi warned that the economy is “on the precipice of recession,” pointing to flat consumer spending, contracting manufacturing and construction, and a weakening labor market.
• Zandi attributed the increased recession risk in part to President Trump’s tariffs and restrictive immigration policies, which he says have eroded corporate profits and shrunk the workforce.
• President Trump fired BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer after criticizing the large data revisions as “rigged,” a move that has drawn bipartisan warnings about political interference in statistical reporting.
• Goldman Sachs Chief Economist Jan Hatzius stated that the severity of the downward revisions makes a Federal Reserve rate cut at its September meeting very likely, a view now widely reflected in market pricing.