Adds 157,000 jobs in July; unemployment rate at 3.9%
- by Curtis Figueroa
- in Business
- — Aug 5, 2018
The Labor Department said the economy added 268,000 jobs in May, up from an initial estimate of 244,000, while the June gain was revised upward to 248,000 from 213,000.
Economists forecast that employers added 193,000 nonfarm payrolls on net last month, according to a Bloomberg survey.
US hiring cooled in July after more-robust gains than previously reported, while the unemployment rate slipped back below 4 percent and wage increases remained subdued, reinforcing a picture of steady labor-market growth in line with the Federal Reserve's outlook for gradual interest-rate hikes. An increase in the labor force participation rate in June pushed up the unemployment rate to 4% from the post-crisis low of 3.8% hit back in May.
"July of 2018 marked the second lowest number of unemployed Americans since before 9/11 in May of 2001 dropping to 6.28 million - 284,000 fewer than in the previous month", noted Rick Manning, president of Americans for Limited Government (GetLiberty.org).
On Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve, the nation's central bank, said the economy was "strong", an upgrade from its June assessment, which dubbed the economy "solid".
In a VOA interview via Skype, Cramer says so far, there is little evidence that Washington's many trade disputes have hurt employment, but that could change if the bickering goes on for "six or eight months".
Wage growth increased but remained sluggish.
One area of concern in the jobs data released this week is a marked downturn in wages.
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Anyone now assigned to a space mission also won't be picked for the Boeing and SpaceX flights, NASA told Business Insider . This test demonstrated the system's ability to land the spacecraft safely in the unlikely event of a low altitude abort.
The unemployment rate remains at a record low as employers fall slightly short of analyst's expectations for July. The U.S. central bank said "the labor market has continued to strengthen and economic activity has been rising at a strong rate".
America's economy hasn't expanded at a three percent rate in more than a dozen years.
The Fed's preferred inflation measure, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index excluding the volatile food and energy components, increased 1.9 percent in June.
Hiring sizzled in July in business services, manufacturing and hospitality.
People looking for jobs at factories had a better chance of being hired last month. Blue-collar jobs have grown sharply, with manufacturing adding 327,000 positions in the past year and construction adding 308,000.
A company representative, left, speaks with a job seeker during a United Career Fairs sales and management hiring event in Oak Brook, Ill., on July 17.
The slip in hiring last month may be temporary. This article is strictly for informational purposes only.
