Manufacturing
The U.S. economy added slightly fewer jobs than expected in July, while the unemployment rate held above a 50-year low, according to Bloomberg data.
Payrolls rose 164,000, almost matching projections, though the two prior months were revised lower, according to a Labor Department report Friday. The jobless rate held at 3.7%, near a half-century low, while average hourly earnings climbed 3.2% from a year earlier, better than forecast.
Despite July’s healthy payrolls figure, the three-month average increase of 140,000 was the slowest in almost two years. That trend is in line with forecasts for a gradual slowing of job gains as the labor market tightens, but it could also be seen as a sign that the economy is losing steam.
Manufacturing jobs jumped by 16,000 during the month, far exceeding consensus expectations for just 5,000 and representing the most additions since January. This came even as other reads on the domestic manufacturing sector have pointed to anemic activity, including the IHS Markit and the Institute of Supply Management purchasing managers indices, Bloomberg stated.
The July jobs report – the first for the second half of the year – showed the 17th consecutive month of an unemployment rate at or below 4%.
