Employers added 1.8 million jobs last month, down from a record 4.8 million in June.

The unemployment rate fell to 10.2%, continuing to improve from the high of 14.7% seen in April.

Since February, the US has lost more than 12 million jobs and seen unemployment spike from a roughly 50-year-low of 3.5%.

This week, nearly 1.2 million people filed new claims for unemployment.

Heidi Shierholz, economist at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, said: "We added 1.8 million jobs in July, but our jobs level remains in absolute crisis"

We added 1.8 million jobs in July, but our jobs level remains in absolute crisis—we lost so many jobs in March and April that we are still 12.9 million jobs below where we were in February

Economists have said the hiring slowdown last month is a reminder of the risks facing the American economy, as health concerns put a dampener on consumer spending and temporary measures passed in March, including bans on evictions and a $600 emergency boost to unemployment benefits, expire

"The most responsible thing we can do is to take proactive measures to allow people to return to work safely, instead of continuing to lock down the economy," Republican Congressman Kevin Brady said after the jobs report