July Jobs Report Mixed
The government today delivered a mixed report on the job market for July, with a less-than-expected gain in new jobs but a better-than-expected drop in the nation’s unemployment rate.
In its widely watched and anticipated monthly report, the U.S. Labor Department said the economy added 162,000 jobs last month. That was well below the 175,000 that analysts polled by Yahoo Finance expected, and the gain of 200,000 cited by payroll processor ADP.
However, the unemployment rate fell to 7.4 percent, its lowest level since December 2008, when it was 7.3 percent. It rose as high as 10 percent in October 2009 before falling gradually. At the start of this year, the jobless rate was 7.9 percent.
The Labor Department said employment rose particularly in retail trade (47,000 jobs; 352,000 over the last 12 months), food services and drinking places (38,000 in July), financial activities (15,000) and wholesale trade (14,000).
Among specific sectors, the Labor Department said the following:
- Employment in professional and business services continued to trend up in July, with a gain of 36,000 jobs. Within the industry, job growth continued in management of companies and enterprises (up 7,000) and in management and technical consulting services (also up 7,000). Employment in temporary help services changed little over the month.
- Employment in health care was essentially unchanged over the month. So far in 2013, that industry has added an average of 16,000 jobs per month, compared with a 27,000 monthly average gain in 2012.
- Manufacturing employment was mostly flat in July and has changed little over the past 12 months. Within the industry, employment in motor vehicles and parts rose by 9,000 in July.
The White House was encouraged by the numbers, but said the economy needs to keep generating jobs.
“While more work remains to be done, today’s employment report provides further confirmation that the U.S. economy is continuing to recover from the worst downturn since the Great Depression,” Alan Krueger, chairman of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, said in a statement on the White House website.
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