US payrolls revisions jolt markets, making Fed look behind the curve

NEW YORK (Reuters) -News of a surprise weakening in the U.S. labor market last month jolted investors on Friday, as hefty revisions to past months raised fears the Federal Reserve may have been flying blind in recent months and may need to play catch-up with interest rate cuts. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 73,000 jobs in July after rising by a downwardly revised 14,000 in June, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its employment report on Friday. The report comes two days after the U.S. central bank left unchanged its benchmark interest rate and avoided signaling imminent rate cuts, dialing back market expectations for an easing at the next policy meeting in September.