USA employers added 255,000 jobs in July and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.9 percent, according to the Department of Labor.
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The U.S. economy added 255,000 jobs in July and wages jumped up, the U.S. Department of Labor reported on Friday.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls increasing 180,000 in July and the unemployment rate dipping one-tenth of a percentage point to 4.8 per cent.
Manufacturing sector employment increased by 9,000 jobs in July after adding 15,000 positions in June.
Job growth in 2016 remained “well above the pace needed to maintain a low and stable unemployment rate”, said Jason Furman, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.
Since the USA central bank hiked interest rates for the first time in a long time last December, it has sat on its hands as global economic growth sputtered.
“The strong employment reports in the past two months increase the motivation for the Fed to increase rates in September, though in our view a post-election hike is still more likely”, Gad Levanon of the Conference Board said.
Doug Duncan, chief economist at Fannie Mae in Washington, said: “It shows the economy from a labour perspective is heading in the direction that the Fed wants”. We must continue to invest in our most precious natural resource – our human capital – so that everyone gets the skills and training they need to compete.
“The bulk of new jobs added remain in low-paying industries”, the website Zero Hedge noted. In addition, average hourly earnings are expected to have increased 0.2 percent after edging up 0.1 percent in June.
Additionally, the unemployment level among native-born Americans was 5.3 percent and the labor force participation rate was 62.9 percent in July. “Consumers are driving economic growth right now and one of the reasons is that wage growth has gotten a bit stronger”. Sales of existing homes reached a nine-year high in June, and sales of new homes accelerated to an eight-year high. Within the industry, employment rose by 37,000 in professional and technical services in July, led by computer systems design and related services (up 8,000) and architectural and engineering services (up 7,000).
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Health care, financial activities, leisure and hospitality also saw growth, as did government employment. While the numbers reflect the confidence of investors and employers, American jobs growth is still behind last year’s rate.
