US Adds Only 114K Jobs in July, Unemployment Rate Rises to 4.3%

The job market softened significantly in July, with the U.S. adding just 114,000 jobs during the month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, while the unemployment rate rose to 4.3%.

Those 114,000 jobs were well below expectations of 175,000 and a significant drop from June’s 179,000.

The unemployment rate rose to 4.3% from 4.1% in June, above estimates of 4.1%.

The Bitcoin (BTC) price has remained almost flat from just before the figures were released, currently trading at $64,500 and little changed from 24 hours ago.

The reaction in traditional markets was even bigger, with the 10-year Treasury yield falling 15 basis points to 3.83% and the two-year yield falling a full 23 basis points to 3.93%. Both levels are the lowest in more than a year. Nasdaq futures are down 2.3% and the S&P 500 is down 1.6%.

Also on the move was the dollar, which lost 0.6%, and gold, which rose 1.3% to a new record high of $2,513 an ounce.

In other report details, average hourly earnings rose 0.2% in July, below expectations, after rising 0.3% in June. Average weekly hours also fell short of expectations, coming in at 34.2, versus estimates of 34.3.

Having fully priced in a 25 basis point Federal Reserve rate cut in September, traders are rapidly increasing bets on an even bigger move. There’s a 70% chance the Fed will cut 50 basis points in September, according to CME FedWatch.