Those stable numbers suggest the labor market is in no danger of going bust.
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While the number of jobs added came in just shy of forecasts.
U.S. employment rose at a solid clip in July and wages rebounded after a surprise stall in the prior month, signs of an improving economy that opened the door wider to a Federal Reserve interest rate increase in September.
The 215,000 gain was about what Wall Street expected.
He said that the new hiring figures “just missed” expectations of a 225,000 rise.
But given that the Fed is nearing an important policy turning point, namely a decision to raise interest rates for the first time in nine years, the fact that there are highly consistent signals about what is happening in the labor market actually is welcome in its own right.
The government will issue the July jobs report at 5:30 a.m. Pacific time.
On the other hand, a weaker job gain of, say, around 125,000 could persuade the Fed to put off a rate increase until perhaps December, Anderson said. “I think it’s another step toward the eventual lift-off”, said Tom Porcelli, chief U.S. economist at RBC Capital Markets in New York.
Probably the most assertive and outspoken in his support of raising the interest rates in September has been Dennis Lockhart, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
Some economists argue that a September rate increase isn’t guaranteed. And there’s a lot more money involved than at any championship sporting event or even my birthday (unless, of course, readers are extremely generous).
The participation rate was unchanged at 62.6 per cent, hovering at the lowest level in decades as people stayed out of the workforce.
The average hourly wage increased by 5 cents an hour, to $24.99.
Among the hottest job categories last month were retail jobs (+36,000), health care (+28,000) and food service and bars (+29,000).
It was the seventh straight day of declines for the Dow Jones industrial average, and the longest losing streak for the index since July 2011, when investors were anxious that the US would slip back into recession. And that report is not a cinch to be upbeat. But many frustrated job seekers have stopped looking for work, perhaps only temporarily.
For one thing, the economy isn’t growing very quickly.
The steady job gains have helped reduce the jobless rate to 5.3 percent from 6.2 percent a year ago and 10 percent in 2009.
Nvidia, which specializes in graphics and visual computing, jumped 12.4 percent as it reported second-quarter sales grew 4.3 percent.
Job security also appears to be improving.
In another sign which was positive, job growth for May & June was stronger than predicted by a total of 14000.
Employment gains in July were broad-based, with the share of industries adding jobs hitting a seven-month high.
Still, the jobs report indicated that companies are anticipating higher consumer spending.
Five of the participants who in July said they expected two rate hikes this year now see only one.
In September, the phantom job number goes negative.
Experts believe this might be enough to convince officials at the US Fed, including chair Janet Yellen, that the economy can withstand a hike in interest rates.
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“If we wait longer [to raise rates] it certainly could mean that when we begin to raise rates we might have to do so more rapidly”, she warned.
