The Labor Department released new hiring and unemployment figures on Friday morning. This is the latest official snapshot of the state of the American economy.
The Numbers
• 209,000 jobs were added in July, somewhat above Wall Street economists’ expectations.
July
• The unemployment rate was 4.3 percent. June’s jobless rate was 4.4 percent.
• Job gains for May and June were revised upward by 2,000.
The Takeaway
“This is a Goldilocks report for the markets,” said Michael Gapen, chief United States economist at Barclays, meaning it was neither discouraging nor overheated. Citing the healthy payroll growth and steady gain in average hourly earnings in July, he added, “It really bodes well for macroeconomic growth.”
Indeed, stocks were slightly higher in mid-afternoon trading as Wall Street remained near record highs. On Wednesday, the Dow Jones industrial average crossed the 22,000 mark for the first time.
Economists had been expecting a gain of 180,000 jobs, so the actual data is a sign that the economy is growing faster than other indicators had suggested.