US employers cut 23,000 jobs in July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on 7 August, the first monthly contraction since February and a reading far below analyst expectations.
The US economy shed 23,000 jobs in July while data centre construction pulls welders and pipefitters into demand, two signals that the AI jobs story is splitting in opposite directions.
China's Zhejiang province will let independent grid-side batteries trade in its electricity spot market under a notice issued on 23 September, covering 40 projects totalling 2.54 GW/5.1 GWh, according to pv magazine. Three days earlier, the US Department of Energy said it would put $1.9 billion behind 31 advanced grid technology projects.
US employers shed 23,000 jobs in July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on 7 August, the first monthly decline since February. Turkey's game development sector shows how AI is eating entry-level work from below.
The AI jobs story is splitting in two: junior roles are shrinking in Turkey's game industry and graduate hiring is getting harder, while data centre construction is pulling welders, pipefitters and electricians into six-figure pay.
US employers shed 23,000 jobs in July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Aug. 7, the first monthly decline since February, while the unemployment rate slipped to 4.1%. The weakening labour market is being blamed on AI, but the evidence is more mixed than the headlines suggest.
College graduates aged 22 to 27 faced a 5.7% unemployment rate in June 2026, a full percentage point above their cohort two years earlier, while welder and pipefitter postings jumped 164% year over year. The same technology is producing both numbers.
AI is reshaping hiring from both ends at once. Entry-level roles are thinning out in some markets, while data-center construction pulls welders and electricians into high demand. The evidence is real but uneven, and several claims still outrun the data.
US employers shed 23,000 jobs in July, the first monthly contraction since February, while unemployment fell to 4.1% and labour force participation dropped to 61.4%, its lowest since February 2021.
The US economy shed 23,000 jobs in July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on 7 August, the first monthly decline since February, while the same AI buildout that is squeezing junior roles is pulling welders and pipefitters into six-figure work.
US employers shed 23,000 jobs in July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on 7 August. New data from Pew Research Center and the New York Fed show voters and graduates increasingly split over what artificial intelligence is doing to work.
Playmobil has ended figure production at its Dietenhofen plant in Bavaria, cutting around 350 jobs. The Horst Brandstätter Group blames high energy prices. It is the latest European manufacturer to leave as power costs stay high.
Residential heat pump sales rose 17% year on year across 11 European countries in the first quarter of 2026, the European Heat Pump Association says, as high energy prices push households and manufacturers to change how they buy and use power.
Wholesale electricity in America's largest power market rose 75.5% year on year in Q1 2026, while Playmobil has ended figure production in Germany and European heat pump sales grew 17%, three data points that show how energy costs are reshaping where industry can operate.
The Horst Brandstätter Group is ending production of Playmobil figures at its Dietenhofen plant in Bavaria, cutting around 350 jobs. The company blames high energy prices.
US employers shed 23,000 jobs in July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on 7 August, the first monthly decline since February, while the unemployment rate slipped to 4.1%. The same week, a Pew survey found Democrats had overtaken Republicans as the group most worried about AI taking jobs.
European manufacturers are closing plants and moving production abroad as energy costs bite. Playmobil shut its German factory in June, and heat pump sales jumped 17% in the first quarter of 2026.
Playmobil has ended figure production in Germany, and ASML says it is currently selling no chipmaking machines in Europe. Both decisions sit on top of an energy bill that keeps climbing while the rest of the world undercuts it.