Almost any way you slice it, the July jobs report was not good. The U.S. economy added 73,000 jobs last month , while economists polled by Dow Jones expected a gain of 100,000. Revisions for the two previous months don’t help either. June and May totals were revised lower by a combined 258,000 from levels previously announced. One potential silver lining for the market? A September rate cut is back on the table after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell tried to temper expectations for easier monetary policy earlier this week. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool shows a 66% chance that the Fed lowers its benchmark rate by 0.25 percentage point in September. That’s up from just 37% on Thursday. Check out what Wall Street strategists, economists and investors had to say about the report: Chris Zaccarelli, CIO for Northlight Asset Management: “Just two days after the conclusion of this month’s Fed meeting, suddenly the dual mandate is back on the table. With this morning’s payroll miss – and the downward revisions that came with it – the Fed will again need to balance a slowing job market with inflation which isn’t slowing fast enough.” Ian Lyngen, head of U.S. rates strategy at BMO: “The most notable aspect of this morning’s employment data was the -258k revision to June and May payrolls. The -258k revisions and increase in the unemployment rate have put a September rate cut back on the table. Although, we’re all to cognizant that there are still two CPI releases and another NFP print before the Fed’s September 17 decision.” Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union: “This is a gamechanger jobs report. The labor market is deteriorating quickly.” Peter Boockvar, CIO of One Point BFG Wealth Partners: “Bottom line, let’s be honest here, volatile and costly trade policy has stalled decision making on the part of companies with many hitting the pause button on hiring.” Steve Rick, chief economist at TruStage: “Despite positive news on the economic front with signs of inflation easing, this morning’s July jobs report fell short of expectations. The latest data suggests employers are beginning to show signs of hesitation, likely as a result of sustained uncertainty around tariffs and global demand.” Chris Rupkey, chief economist at FWDBonds: “Bond prices exploded higher on the all-important jobs report, as the door to a Fed rate cut in September just got opened a crack wider. The labor market looks in much worse shape than we thought. Bet on it. The labor market is not rolling over, but it is badly wounded and may yet bring about a reversal in the US economy’s fortunes.” — CNBC’s Yun Li, Lisa Han and Jeff Cox contributed reporting.
