Wall Street futures are down since the release of the latest U.S. jobs report Friday morning. Employers cut jobs for a sixth consecutive month in July, said the Department of Labor.

Non-farm business payrolls declined by 44,000 last month. That brings the total of jobs lost since the start of the year to 486,000.

Paradoxically, the U.S. unemployment rate declined for the first time since January. The jobless rate dropped by two tenths of a percentage point to 6.2%. This accords with the recent drop in initial jobless claims, but economists are saying this reflects that many Americans are giving up on finding the labour market, inspiring worries about the impact of job loss on consumer spending and economic recovery.

Later in the morning, the University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey for July will be released. It’s likely to be closely watched, too.

In Canada, manufacturers are concerned with lower levels of unfilled orders and higher finished product inventories, says Statistics Canada. They do not expect to crank up production in the coming three months. Many are citing the appreciation of the Canadian dollar as a factor in this decision.

At 10:00 ET, the American Institute for Supply Management will issues its index on manufacturing activity.

Overseas, the FTSE 100 index is down half of 1% at midday in London. Frankfurt’s DAX has fallen 0.9%. The Paris CAC-40 has slipped 0.1%.

Tokyo’s Nikkei average ended a three-day losing streak, closing up 48.46 points at 9,611.67. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index rose 113.77 points, or 1.1%, to 10,248.60, its highest close since last Aug. 22.