These 6 sectors actually added jobs in July
Amid a weak jobs report, six industries managed to make gains, buttressing the bleeding elsewhere in the economy
The July jobs report wasn’t just bad — it rewrote the narrative of the entire past six months of President Donald Trump’s economy.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Friday showed payrolls grew by a paltry 73,000 nonfarm jobs in July, significantly less than the anticipated 110,000 new roles.
It also revised May and June numbers by more than a quarter million jobs, which meant payroll growth has averaged just 35,000 jobs per month over the last three months. Those are the worst numbers the country has seen since the pandemic.
At the same time, the unemployment rate increased to its highest level since October 2021, at 4.2%, as the overall workforce shrank.
The numbers so enraged the president that he ordered the firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, an unprecedented political intrusion into the traditionally nonpartisan, bureaucratic compiling of economic data — and one that risks only spooking markets further. Without offering any evidence, Trump accused her of manipulating jobs data for political purposes and alleged that the jobs report was “faked.”
Still, amid the disastrous report, six sectors did see job growth while others recorded losses. Continue reading to see which sectors saw growth.
Shannon Carroll contributed to this article.
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Health care and social assistance
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Health care and social assistance jobs saw the biggest increase, adding 73.3k people to the payrolls. This isn’t particularly surprising, given health care is the biggest employer in the country.
The greatest share of July’s growth came from ambulatory health services — meaning care that doesn’t happen within a hospital. That includes urgent care centers, outpatient facilities, and dialysis centers.
“Healthcare once again proved to be a stabilizing force in the labor market,” Jay Asser of Health Leaders Media wrote in an analysis of the report. “For hospitals and health systems grappling with staffing shortages, especially in nursing and frontline support roles, continued job growth is an encouraging sign.”
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Retail trade
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Retail trade added the second-most jobs in July, counting 15.7k more people employed in the sector. The bulk of these additions came from warehouse clubs, supercenters, and other general merchandise retailers, according to BLS data. Smaller chunks came from health and personal care retailers, and gas station and fuel dealers.
A few retail segments saw negative job numbers, including sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument, book, and miscellaneous retailers, as well as food and beverage retailers and electronic and appliance retailers.
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Financial activities
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Financial activities added 15,000 jobs in July, according to BLS data. Most of the gains came from finance and insurance jobs, particularly from insurance carriers and related activities. There were also solid gains in the sub-sector labeled “securities, commodity contracts, funds, trusts, and other financial vehicles, investments, and related activities.
Real estate jobs stayed relatively stable, without significant gains or losses.
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Leisure and hospitality
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Leisure and hospitality, once a post-pandemic growth engine, added just 5,000 jobs. Still, that’s the sector with the fourth-most gains in July. The industry usually sees a larger seasonal boost in the summer. The BLS said almost all the growth within the sector came from “accommodation” jobs. Food services, meanwhile, saw a decline.
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Transportation and warehousing
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Transportation and warehousing had the fifth-largest gains, although that only meant the sector added around 3,600 jobs. Those gains came from the air, rail, and truck transportation. But the added jobs were offset by a sizable decline in warehousing and storage jobs.
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Construction
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The sixth and final industry that saw job growth in July was construction, adding about 2,000 jobs. Those new jobs came from two segments: Heavy and civil engineering construction and nonresidential specialty trade contractors. The rest of the industry saw losses, including the construction of residential and nonresidential buildings.