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US Gains 79K Jobs, Layoffs Rise, Samsung, Microsoft Cut Staff

8/7/2026

29 5 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

The U.S. added 79,200 jobs in July 2026, led by health care, social assistance and manufacturing.
WARN notices rose to 27,000 in July, up from 23,000 in June, with manufacturing reporting the most.
Samsung Electronics cut hundreds of New Jersey jobs and moved its sales and marketing headquarters to Texas.
Microsoft cut 4,800 jobs, causing hiring to fall to 20.6% and postings to rise 0.3%.

History

Historical Context

The wave of corporate cuts in July 2026 follows the largest U.S. job loss on record during the COVID-19 recession, when the Labor Department reported 20.5 million jobs vanished in April 2020 and unemployment peaked at 14.7 %. That shock spurred the $2 trillion CARES stimulus and a shift toward remote work, setting a precedent for later relocations such as Samsung’s move to Texas and Microsoft’s 4,800-job reduction.

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Story summary

The U.S. added 79,200 jobs in July 2026, led by health care, social assistance and manufacturing.
WARN notices rose to 27,000 in July, up from 23,000 in June, with manufacturing reporting the most.
Samsung Electronics cut hundreds of New Jersey jobs and moved its sales and marketing headquarters to Texas.
Microsoft cut 4,800 jobs, causing hiring to fall to 20.6% and postings to rise 0.3%.

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