The U.S. economy remained resilient in the month of July, with employers adding an additional 255,000 jobs to the workforce, beating expectations that new hiring would top out at 180,000.
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The unemployment rate remained a low 4.9 percent, the government said Friday in its monthly jobs report. It gained only 38,000 new jobs in May which sparked concern among federal officials and economists.
The revised figures from previous months showed United States businesses added 292,000 jobs in June and 24,000 in May.
The amount of jobs was down from 292,000 added the previous month, but represents a rebound from the 24,000 added in May.
Average hourly pay picked up and is 2.6 percent higher than it was a year ago, matching the fastest pace since the recession.
Economic growth has slumped this year, posting a 1.2 percent rate in the April-June quarter after a 0.8 percent pace in the first three months of the year.
She sees full employment as a benchmark for judging the U.S. economy is truly recovering from the 2007-09 recession and raises the probability of an interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve this year. The last Fed increase – a quarter point increase in a key interest rate last December – brought to an end seven years of near-zero rates.
That, in addition to continued improvement in wage growth, puts a Fed rate hike back on the table for 2016. Professional and business services added 70,000 jobs in July, and have added 550,000 jobs over the past 12 months. The financial activities sector rose by 18,000 in July, and has risen by 162,000 over the year.
Digging deeper into the report, wage growth is showing promise with an increase to 2.6% year-over-year.
US president Barack Obama’s socialized medicine monstrosity also appears to have propped up health care employment. (Their unemployment rate topped 15 percent in the recession.) For workers with only a high school diploma, the unemployment rate is down to 5 percent from more than 10 percent during the recession.
Wall Street opened higher after the data, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.5 per cent at the opening bell.
Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu said the data “was most welcome”.
In the past 3 months, job gains have averaged 190,000 per month. “We’re seeing new entrants into the labor market, which implies a longer runway for the business cycle”. However, the headline unemployment rate held steady at 4.9% while the more inclusive U6 number ticked up slightly.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ July jobs report contained little bad news. And auto sales have leveled off, according to data released this week.
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America’s mining sector lost 6,000 jobs in July.
