Gold hits seven-week high as weak U.S. jobs data dents rate hike bets

Gold hits seven-week high as weak U.S. jobs data dents rate hike bets

Gold bars lie in a safe on a table at the precious metal dealer Pro Aurum. Sven Hoppe | Picture Alliance | Getty ImagesGold surged on Friday, hitting ​its highest in seven weeks, ​after an unexpected ​drop in U.S. non-farm payrolls in July dashed rate-hike sentiment and set bullion on course for its best week in seven months.Spot gold jumped 2.3% to $4,336.11 an ounce, having surged more than 3% ⁠to its highest since June 17. Bullion is set to post its largest weekly rise since January 19, with prices gaining over 7% so far this week. U.S. gold futures climbed 2.3% to $4,396.9Nonfarm ‌payrolls fell by 23,000 jobs last month after a downwardly revised 20,000 increase in June, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics ​said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls rising 80,000 last month."The weaker-than-expected jobs data presents a scenario where the Fed is going to be less likely to raise interest rates at its next meeting," ⁠said David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures.Energy prices coming...
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What the lull in teen hiring this summer tells us about the job market ahead of Friday’s report

What the lull in teen hiring this summer tells us about the job market ahead of Friday’s report

When the latest official jobs report is released on Friday, economists are expecting it to show that hiring picked up in July and that the unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%. Economists’ estimated monthly employment gains of 97,500 jobs would mark an increase from June’s lower-than-expected 57,000 jobs added. The bulk of last month’s employment growth is likely to come from one sector: healthcare and social assistance. Friday’s report will likely underscore that the job market remains stable but in a low-flow state, with non-healthcare hiring a little sluggish and the unemployment rate largely unchanged. “Low-hire, low-fire” — the well-worn moniker for the...
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Women account for nearly all new US jobs in August

Women account for nearly all new US jobs in August

Women accounted for 98% of the 162,000 jobs the US added in August, an unprecedented figure that could point to broader labor market shifts. The figure reflects growth in health and caregiving, but also in local government and education, which "roared back to life," CNBC noted. Because women tend to earn less than men and are likelier to hold multiple jobs, the figure suggests hiring is clustered in low-paying, contingent roles, meaning it's not "necessarily a positive story for women overall," Indeed Hiring Lab said. It also belies a trend of American mothers exiting the workforce. A Trump administration plan would pay at-home parents, The New York Times reported, but critics said it could divert money from other working parents. ...
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Nearly 37,000 clean energy jobs lost in 2025, E2 reports

Nearly 37,000 clean energy jobs lost in 2025, E2 reports

E2’s 2026 Clean Jobs Americareport arrives more than one year since passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) that cut incentives for clean energy manufacturing, generation and job creation. This eleventh annual report from E2, a national, nonpartisan group, analyzes the clean energy economy nearly four years since it was boosted by the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy investments and six years after many industries were leveled by the Covid-19 pandemic. In the past two years, Congress and the current administration have incrementally withdrawn federal support for clean energy; a move reflected in the reported job losses. The 36,949 jobs lost in 2025 reflect the first annual job loss in the U.S. clean economy since the economic crisis that followed the Covid-19 pandemic, ending four consecutive years of strong growth. Furthermore, it erases almost 40% of all new jobs created in 2024, the report says. The report finds that jobs were lost across all the largest sectors of the clean energy...
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Women hold more U.S. jobs than men—but still earn far less starting the day they graduate

Women hold more U.S. jobs than men—but still earn far less starting the day they graduate

For only the third time in American history, women hold more payroll jobs than men—and that trend isn’t likely to reverse anytime soon. Yet even as women pull ahead on job counts, men continue to out-earn them at nearly every stage of their careers, starting the day they leave campus. A new study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) found that women who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in the class of 2023 earned an average starting salary of $59,778, while men with the same degree earned $72,190. That works out to women taking home roughly 83 cents for every dollar their male classmates made—before their careers have even begun. Women last held a payroll majority only twice before—briefly during the Great Recession around 2010, and again just before the pandemic in early 2020. Both times a downturn had wiped out male-dominated jobs in construction and manufacturing. What makes this crossover different is that it arrived without a recession. Women...
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14 High-Demand Jobs in 2026

14 High-Demand Jobs in 2026

Key takeawaysSome of the high-demand jobs over the next 10 years include data scientists, information security analysts, financial managers, IT managers, and software developers.The benefits of pursuing jobs in high demand include greater job stability, higher salaries, faster career advancement, and professional development opportunities.Medical jobs in high demand include medical assistants, health services managers, and nurse practitioners.High-paying jobs in demand include financial managers, IT managers, and software developers. Learn more about the various jobs projected to exceed average growth rates over the next 10 years.If you’re ready to start preparing for a high-demand role, consider enrolling in the Interviewing and Resume Writing in English Specialization. You’ll have the opportunity to learn how to prepare for a successful job search, strengthen your interviewing skills by recognizing what hiring managers are looking for, and prepare a resume, cover letter, and supporting business documents in as little as three months. Upon completion, you’ll not only have had the chance to practice your interviewing...
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US added 162,000 jobs in August, with unemployment rate holding steady | US unemployment and employment data

US added 162,000 jobs in August, with unemployment rate holding steady | US unemployment and employment data

The US economy added 162,000 jobs in August, an uptick after a sluggish summer for the labor market.The unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%, still down from its most recent peak of 4.5% last November, according to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Despite the relative stability of the unemployment rate, the number of new jobs added to the economy has been fluctuating, going from 214,000 in March down to a 21,000 gain in July and then back up in August.August jobs reportFigures for job growth in June and July were both revised up. After revisions, job growth in June was 31,000 jobs, up from an initial 20,000, and July was revised up by 44,000 jobs, from an initially reported loss of 23,000 to a gain of 21,000.Economists had predicted gains would be at least 50,000 new jobs. Earlier in the week, the payroll firm ADP reported private companies added 38,000 jobs in August, lower than initial...
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Who runs the labor market? Women accounted for 98% of U.S. job gains in August

Who runs the labor market? Women accounted for 98% of U.S. job gains in August

Who runs the world—or the U.S. labor market—in August? Girls. Women accounted for almost every job added to the U.S. economy in August, an extraordinary statistic within a jobs report full of surprises. The economy added 162,000 jobs last month, nearly triple most economists’ projections of around 55,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Of those gains, women accounted for 158,000 of them, roughly 98% of the net increase in payroll employment. Men, by comparison, gained only about 4,000 jobs. Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, cautioned against reading too much into the gender split of one month, calling it “noisy.” “I think there’s been way too much focus on the month to month—is it men gaining jobs or women?” Long told Fortune. “That moves around a lot.” Nevertheless, the lopsided month is another data point for a broad transformation in the American workforce: Earlier this year, women overtook men in total payroll employment for the third time in history. Unlike the...
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US added 162,000 jobs in August, smashing expectations: jobs report

US added 162,000 jobs in August, smashing expectations: jobs report

US employers added 162,000 jobs in August, handily beating economists' expectations, the Labor Department said on Friday. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had been expecting a more modest gain of 55,000 jobs and a flat unemployment rate. The food services sector added 59,000 jobs, while public education gained 42,000 positions. The healthcare sector, which has been responsible for much of this year's job gains, continued to grow, although at a slower pace, adding 13,000 jobs. In a sign of ongoing challenges in white-collar employment, the information sector lost 23,000 positions. "Wow. A huge August jobs report," Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, wrote in a post...
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Hanwha Defense USA selects U.S. Army’s Pine Bluff Arsenal for $2.2 billion 155mm munitions campus expected to create nearly 400 jobs

Hanwha Defense USA selects U.S. Army’s Pine Bluff Arsenal for $2.2 billion 155mm munitions campus expected to create nearly 400 jobs

Hanwha Defense USA plans to invest about $2.2 billion in a munitions manufacturing campus at the U.S. Army’s Pine Bluff Arsenal in Arkansas. The facility will produce 155mm propellant charges and base bleed units and is expected to create close to 400 jobs over seven years. The company opened an administration headquarters at the arsenal on Monday to oversee its local operations. Hanwha said the office represents the first step in its plan to establish the Advanced Manufacturing Campus. Hanwha Defense USA was awarded a lease solicitation for the campus in January 2026. The planned facility will establish domestic manufacturing capacity across key stages of munitions production. The investment is intended to increase U.S. production capacity and modernize the national munitions industrial base. It also expands Hanwha’s manufacturing presence in the United States through cooperation with the Army. “Hanwha remains committed to supporting the American defense industrial base by bringing our manufacturing...
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