The U.S. economy added 209,000 jobs in July, and unemployment was little changed at 4.3%, according to figures released this morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This continues the recovery of the labor market at a tempered rate, which means the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee should continue to let the economy grow and not raise interest rates.
In response to the July jobs numbers, AFL-CIO Chief Economist William Spriggs tweeted:
Job numbers up 209,000 in July, May revised down, June up for a net adjustment of +2,000 @AFLCIO
— William E. Spriggs (@WSpriggs) August 4, 2017
Wages show a tiny improvement, up 2.5% over last year. Still much room for the Fed to slow rate increases over the year @AFLCIO
— William E. Spriggs (@WSpriggs) August 4, 2017
Job gains in 2016 averaged 187,000 a year, a little ahead of this year's 184,000 so we can still thank @POTUS44 Trump's done nothing @AFLCIO
— William E. Spriggs (@WSpriggs) August 4, 2017
Those out of the labor force in June were 2.4 times more likely to land a job in July than end up unemployed, holding steady @AFLCIO
— William E. Spriggs (@WSpriggs) August 4, 2017
ACA repeal still showing effects, overall healthcare up 39,400 but nursing homes down 1,000 and medical labs down 1,200 @AFLCIO
— William E. Spriggs (@WSpriggs) August 4, 2017
Last month's biggest job gains were in food services and drinking places (53,000), professional and business services (49,000), health care employment (39,000), and mining (1,000). Employment in other major industries, including construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade, retail trade, transportation and warehousing, information, financial activities, and government, showed little change over the month.
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for teenagers (13.2%), blacks (7.4%), Hispanics (5.1%), adult men (4.0%), adult women (4.0%), whites (3.8%) and Asians (3.8%) showed little or no change in July.
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was up slightly in July and accounted for 25.9% of the unemployed.