Axios

The historic employment gains notched by Black Americans during the pandemic-era recovery may be beginning to reverse — one of the disappointing details of the June jobs report out Friday.

Why it matters: The hot labor market sharply narrowed employment gaps, helping lower-income and other marginalized workers reap benefits other groups felt much sooner. But those workers are also historically the first casualty of softer job conditions.

The sudden popularity of effective weight-loss drugs is scrambling the industry devoted to helping people shed pounds on their own, sending companies searching for ways to reinvent themselves.

Why it matters: Drugs like Wegovy and Mounjaro are transforming the weight-loss experience, introducing a dependable medical solution for people who need or want to be slimmer.

Sometimes the jobs report shifts the narrative about what's next for the economy and the Federal Reserve. There was no such shift to be found in the June numbers that were released Friday.

Why it matters: Job growth is moderating, with the 209,000 positions added in June -- the lowest thus far in the post-pandemic expansion. But overall conditions for American workers remain strong, with low joblessness and rising wages.

The next time your car breaks down, expect to fork over more money — and wait longer — for repairs.

Why it matters: Americans already face record-high debt after a long battle with inflation, and pricey repairs for vehicles they rely on to get around will likely only worsen the situation.

A stablecoin project amassed a who's who of crypto investors with a humanitarian pitch pointed at serving the underbanked — and now it's suffering its own set of banking issues.

Driving the news: Reserve Protocol's RPay — the app through which users make transfers and payments — announced that on Aug. 3 it would suspend local currency withdrawals in six countries, including key markets in Latin America that the app built out since its start.

One of the best pieces of news in the June jobs report was a new multi-decade high in the share of people employed in their prime working years.

Driving the news: The employment-to-population ratio among Americans ages 25 to 54 inched up to 80.9% in June. The last time it was that high? April 2001.

When a chemical plant in Port Neches, Texas, exploded on Thanksgiving eve in 2019, multiple people were injured, tens of thousands were evacuated from their homes and off-site property damage costs topped $150 million.

What's new: The plant's ultimate owners, private equity firms First Reserve and SK Capital Partners, will not be held liable, per a recent ruling by the Texas Supreme Court.

The European Commission has opened a full investigation into Amazon's proposed $1.7 billion acquisition of iRobot, the Massachusetts-based maker of Roomba vacuum cleaners.

Why it matters: Amazon is among the world's most acquisitive tech giants, making multibillion-dollar purchases in everything from connected home to grocery to movie studios to health care clinics. This could be the first time it's stopped by antitrust regulators.

The U.S. labor market added 209,000 jobs in June, while the unemployment rate ticked down to 3.6%, the government said Friday.

Why it matters: Employers continue to add a healthy number of new jobs helping keep the economy on solid footing.

In this economy, everything's coming up wages: A rising share of employed adults say that if they ask for a raise at work, they're very likely to get one, per a new Morning Consult survey.

Why it matters: The survey is another sign of worker empowerment in what remains a tight labor market — and it's also an indicator of how important wages have become to the overall economic picture.

Salty snacks, booze-free cocktails and plant-based everything were trending at a leading showcase event for new foods last week — plus some curveballs.

• In our quest for culinary novelty, some food trends are emerging that are just plain weird.

There were 42.3 new homebuilding permits per 100,000 residents issued nationwide in May 2023, up from 32.9 in May 2020 — the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

• That's per a new Axios analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.

At least 45% of U.S. tap water is estimated to be contaminated with "forever chemicals," according to new U.S. Geological Survey research.

Why it matters: Exposure to certain levels of these synthetic compounds, referred to collectively as PFAS, has been linked to adverse health effects in humans and animals, including an increased risk of cancer.

The Biden administration is appealing a court ruling that would limit government officials and agencies from communicating with social media companies on content moderation, according to court filings Wednesday.

The latest: Department of Justice attorneys in a court filing Thursday evening called Tuesday's preliminary injunction by a Trump-appointed federal judge "both sweeping in scope and vague in its terms" as it asked for the order to be stayed.