Government Jobs Plummet as Private Sector Adds 30,000

The U.S. economy lost 23,000 payroll jobs in July, according to a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

This marks the first decline in nonfarm payroll employment since April and reverses June's gain of 4,000 jobs.

However, a closer look at the numbers reveals that government employment fell by 53,000 in July, while private employers added 30,000 jobs.

The report also shows that federal employment declined by 3,000 in July, with the overall federal workforce having shrunk by 272,283 employees since Trump took office on January 20, 2017.

This trend is part of a larger effort to shrink Washington's bureaucracy, which has seen its size grow almost regardless of party control for decades.