About 350,000 Americans were employed in part-time jobs in July, according to data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The U.S. unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points in July to a three-year high of 4.3 percent. Nonfarm payrolls rose by just 114,000, well below the 179,000 gain in June. according to Meanwhile, economists who spoke to the Daily Caller News Foundation said the number of American workers working part-time — either because their hours were cut or because they couldn't find full-time work — rose by 346,000 to 4.6 million, raising fears of a recession. (Related: “Not normal”: 1 million+ jobs reported for 2023 didn't actually exist)

“Weak demand and increased uncertainty are causing employers to cut full-time jobs, a move that companies often make as the economy heads toward a recession,” EJ Antoni, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation's Grover M. Herman Federal Budget Center, told DCNF. “The Biden-Harris administration has turned the U.S. labor market into a temp agency.”

All of the net job gains since June 2023 have come from part-time employment: while the economy as a whole lost 1.1 million full-time jobs, part-time employment grew by 5.6%, as we are only seeing a gig recovery at this point. pic.twitter.com/I93rtpVL6w

— Dr. EJ Antoni (@RealEJAntoni) August 2, 2024

Since June 2023, the U.S. has lost about 1.1 million full-time jobs, meaning that the roughly 2.7 million jobs added in the past 13 months are all part-time. according to To Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED).

“I think this report shows the cost of high inflation, the cost of interest rates remaining high to combat inflation, and the fact that consumers are nearly out of pocket as a result, as seen by the dramatic increase in credit card debt,” Aaron Hedlund, research director at the America First Institute, told DCNF.

Inflation was 3.0% year-on-year in June, well above the Federal Reserve's 2% target, and prices have risen more than 20% since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021.

Average nominal hourly earnings for private nonfarm employees rose 0.2% to $35.07 in July, up 3.6% from a year earlier, according to BLS data.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) kept the target range for the federal funds rate unchanged at 5.25% to 5.5% at its meeting on Wednesday in an effort to combat rising inflation, marking the eighth consecutive meeting at which the FOMC chose not to adjust interest rates.

Higher interest rates increase borrowing costs for both consumers and businesses. Credit card delinquency rates reached their highest level since 2012 in the first quarter of 2024, with 2.59% of credit card balances being 60 days or more past due, and total revolving balances reached a record high of $628.6 billion.

Meanwhile, rising inflation and interest rates are putting downward pressure on Americans' bank accounts, with the personal savings rate falling to 3.4% in June, a far cry from its peak of 32% during the COVID-19 pandemic. according to To Fred.

The health care and government sectors accounted for 55,000 and 17,000 jobs added in July, or just over 63%. For 2022, the government sector accounted for just over 45% of health care spending. according to To the Congressional Research Service.

On July 5th, the White House issued a press release. release The Biden administration claims to have created a record 15.7 million jobs since taking office.

“The jobs results they claim as credit are absurd, as is the incredible lie that inflation was 'above 9%' when Biden took office,” Peter C. Earl, senior economist at the American Institute for Economic Research, told DCNF.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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