The slowing U.S. labor market is presenting more challenges for a housing sector facing affordability challenges, with would-be homebuyers struggling to save amid persistent inflation and a less dynamic employment outlook.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday released the jobs report for July, which showed the U.S. economy unexpectedly shed 23,000 jobs for the month, when economists had expected a gain of around 80,000. While the unemployment rate declined to 4.1%, it was due to a decline in the labor force participation rate as more individuals exited the workforce.

“The labor market is really the underpinning of the housing market,” Realtor.com Senior Economist Joel Berner told FOX Business in an interview. “When people don’t feel confident about their jobs and their income, they’re not very likely to make a huge purchase like buying a home.”

Berner said the July jobs report was a “pretty rough report” between the economy losing jobs on net for the month with wages growing at a slower pace than inflation.

US ECONOMY UNEXPECTEDLY SHED JOBS IN JULY

“This is not a great recipe for the housing market,” Berner added. “Not only does it affect people’s confidence, but it affects how much they’re able to save for their down payments.”

He noted the decline in the labor force participation rate and suggested that could lead to “slower job growth, slower wage growth, less competition from workers to get those higher wages.

“That just means more of the same of what we’ve been talking about — that wages will grow slower than inflation and people will struggle to save, and then struggle to buy homes,” he added.

MORTGAGE RATES HIT HIGHEST LEVEL IN NEARLY A YEAR

Relief on the affordability front is also unlikely to arrive for prospective homebuyers in the near term because mortgage rates have trended higher in recent weeks and are likely to remain around their current levels through the end of the year.

“In this high mortgage rate environment — mortgage rates just jumped to their highest point in the year — it’s kind of a double whammy for first-time homebuyers especially,” Berner said.

“They’re not able to save as much for a down payment, and then when they go to buy a home, they have to finance more of their purchase at higher rates, so the affordability squeeze is really coming from all angles,” he added.

FED’S HAMMACK SAYS MULTIPLE RATE HIKES MAY BE NEEDED TO TAME INFLATION

Berner said he sees the higher mortgage rate environment persisting through the end of the year since the Federal Reserve appears more likely to hike interest rates than cut amid elevated inflation despite the slower labor market.

“I think the mortgage rate environment that we’re currently living in is about where we’ll be for the remainder of the year,” he said, adding that the softness in the market is likely to persist.

“We’re really seeing a slowdown in terms of listing prices this year, a little bit higher sales activity than last year, because buyers and sellers are kind of meeting in the middle at a better pace than they were in the last couple of years,” Berner said.

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“But this high mortgage rate environment just means more tepid demand from potential homebuyers, and that means more falling prices and potentially fewer listings coming onto the market as well, because sellers are looking around saying, ‘I don’t know if I can sell my home for a price that I want,’ and just deciding to forego doing that,” he said.

AI-generated music has long been a concern for fans and artists.

Musician Alex Winn tells BBC Newsbeat he thinks the incoming feature is a “really good thing”.

“It almost separates the people who have created music properly from the people just using AI,” says guitarist Winn, who plays in the North East band Swindled.

The musician feels people want to “connect emotionally with music” and he thinks “AI can’t really do that”.

The 19-year-old also says having the AI label will help people make an informed choice about their listening habits, and he hopes it will redirect users to other artists and help level the playing field.

“Bands are finding it hard to compete no matter what, nevermind with some AI bands taking over,” he says.

Music fan Leon Keenan thinks AI music shouldn’t be removed completely from Spotify, but agrees that clearly labelling it is a “really good” idea.

“I definitely don’t like AI music, it’s really bad, music is about the passion,” the 20-year-old adds.

Ellie Sumner, 21, also welcomes the new label as she says she has not realised work was AI-generated before.

“It’s very easy to be like ‘AI is so obvious’ and maybe look down on my parents and grandparents falling for it, but I’ve definitely fallen for AI before,” she says.

“It’s sad that we have to label it, but also quite necessary.”

Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. (MCX) and the National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the Global Commodity Conclave 2026 to establish the MCX-NISM Centre for Commodity Markets, a dedicated platform focused on strengthening professional capability, research and responsible participation in India’s commodity markets.

Housed at NISM, it will combine MCX’s industry and market expertise with NISM’s academic infrastructure and research capabilities. As India’s commodity markets become more sophisticated and globally integrated, the initiative fulfils a need for specialised skills, research, and market awareness.

The core focus areas include capacity building and professional development, applied research, investor awareness, and academic engagement. Its programmes will be helpful for market participants, corporates, investors and the wider academic community. It will emphasise practical knowledge and informed participation.

The key objective is to sharpen the understanding of commodity derivatives and their role in managing market risks. The training programmes will cover multiple issues, including hedging, corporate risk management, ethical conduct, suitability, compliance and good market practices.

It will also conduct research and draft policy and white papers. A slew of faculty development programmes, doctoral fellowships, visiting scholar initiatives, and academic symposia will help build a sustained talent pipeline.

MCX will contribute its domain expertise and aid in content development, instructional design and assessment development, helping break down market knowledge into structured learning programmes with clear outcomes.
Sashi Krishnan, Director, National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM) said, “The development of commodity markets rests on research that is rigorous, current, and grounded in the realities of the Indian market as well as on a steady supply of well-trained professionals. NISM’s mandate is centred on capacity building for the securities markets. As commodity trading grows more intr.icate, with new products, wider market linkages, and a regulatory framework that continues to evolve, the case for dedicated research only grows stronger. NISM-MCX Centre for Commodity Markets is a direct expression of that commitment, built to strengthen the knowledge base on which this market depends. NISM welcomes the Multi Commodity Exchange of India as a partner in this initiative and looks forward to the depth its market expertise will bring to our research and capacity building. Through focused research, considered policy analysis, and structured training, the Centre will help regulators, market participants, and professionals engage with India’s commodity markets with greater clarity and confidence.”Praveena Rai, MD and CEO, MCX said, “An efficient commodity market relies fundamentally on informed and skilled market participants. As an exchange, our priority is not only to provide a secure platform for price discovery and risk management, but also to bridge the knowledge gap as commodity derivatives evolve with new products, digital tools, and regulations. Partnering with NISM reflects our commitment to fostering a sophisticated, transparent, and resilient market ecosystem. Through targeted training, joint certifications, and specialized workshops, we aim to empower professionals and build a deep pool of talented expert practioners with the practical risk-management skills required to operate and navigate in commodity markets.”

The centre will strengthen industry-academia collaboration and support the development of skills, research, and responsible participation across India’s commodity markets.

This story about the July 2026 CPI inflation report will be updated with further details.

Inflation cooled slightly in July even as the pace of consumer price growth from a year ago remains elevated, as the Federal Reserve considers a potential interest rate hike next month.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said on Wednesday that the consumer price index (CPI) – a broad measure of how much everyday goods like gasoline, groceries and rent cost – increased 0.1% on a monthly basis and is up 3.4% from a year ago.

Expectations vs. reality

Those figures were in line with the estimates of economists polled by LSEG. The monthly data follows a reading of negative 0.4% in June, while the annual figure is slightly cooler than last month’s 3.5% reading.

So-called core prices, which exclude volatile measurements of gasoline and groceries to better assess price growth trends, were up 0.2% from a month ago and are 2.5% higher year over year. The monthly figure represents a slight uptick after price growth was flat in June, while the annual figure is slightly cooler than last month’s 2.6% reading.

CONSUMER INFLATION COOLED MORE THAN EXPECTED IN JUNE AS GAS PRICES FELL

The cost of living breakdown

High inflation has created severe financial pressures in recent years for most U.S. households, which are forced to pay more for everyday necessities like food and rent. Price hikes are particularly difficult for lower-income Americans, because they tend to spend more of their already-stretched paychecks on necessities and have less flexibility to save.

Energy prices fell 1.5% on a monthly basis in July, but remain up 14.7% from a year ago. That follows a decline of 5.7% in June, when energy prices were easing quickly.

FED’S HAMMACK SAYS MULTIPLE RATE HIKES MAY BE NEEDED TO TAME INFLATION

Gasoline prices declined 2.9% on a monthly basis in July but are 24.6% higher than a year ago. Electricity costs rose 0.1% on a monthly basis and are up 4.2% over the last year.

Food prices increased 0.1% from a month ago and are up 3% compared with last year. The food at home index declined 0.1% in July and is up 2.7% from a year ago, while the food away from home index rose 0.3% in July and is 3.4% higher than last year.

The meats, poultry and fish index declined 0.7% on a monthly basis and is up 4.5% from a year ago. Much of that increase has been driven by beef and veal prices, which are up 9.4% in the last year after a 0.8% decline in July. Egg prices fell 0.5% on a monthly basis and are down 25.7% from a year ago as flocks continue to stabilize after an avian flu outbreak.

The fruits and vegetables index fell 0.1% for the month and is up 5.1% from a year ago. Lettuce prices fell 16.4% in July amid a Cyclospora outbreak, but remain up 7.5% from a year ago.

Housing prices rose 0.1% in July, which the BLS noted was responsible for about two-thirds of the total monthly increase, while the shelter index is up 3.2% from a year ago. Tenants’ and household insurance prices decreased 0.1% in July but are up 4.8% from a year ago.

Transportation services prices rose 0.3% in July and are up 2.9% from a year ago. Airline fares rose 2.2% in July and are up 25.5% over the last year.

What experts are saying

Ellen Zentner, chief economic strategist for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, said that, “In-line inflation will keep the ‘no need to hike rates’ narrative that took hold after last week’s jobs report intact.”

“There will be another round of inflation data before the September FOMC meeting, so the storyline could still change. But unless those numbers tell a much different story, the Fed will likely still be in a position to leave rates unchanged next month,” Zentner added.

FED POLICYMAKERS LEAVE RATES UNCHANGED AMID ELEVATED UNCERTAINTY

Lindsay Rosner, head of multi-sector fixed income investing at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said that, “With another round of inflation data due before the September FOMC meeting, it remains all to play for, but today’s in-line report was a good start.”

“Contained core inflation adds to the encouraging signs in last month’s release of a moderation in underlying inflation, helping strengthen the case for a September hold,” Rosner added.

What does it mean for the Fed and interest rates?

The July CPI inflation report shifted the outlook for the Federal Reserve’s next monetary policy meeting, with traders now leaning more clearly toward a continued pause in interest rate moves.

According to the CME FedWatch tool, the market now sees a 61.9% probability of rates remaining at the current target range of 3.5% to 3.75%, up from 51.6% a day ago. Meanwhile, the odds of a 25 basis point hike declined to 38.1% from 48.4% yesterday.

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Looking ahead through the end of the year, the tool continues to see a single 25-basis-point rate hike as the likeliest outcome with 45% odds, compared with a 28.9% chance rates remain at their current level and a 22.5% chance of two 25-basis-point hikes.

What does it mean for the market?