According to the US Labor Department, nonfarm payrolls increased by 215,000 in July. However, the actual number of new jobs failed to meet the forecast of 225,000.
Payrolls data for May and June was revised to show 14,000 more jobs created than previously reported. The June data was upgraded by 8,000 to 231,000 compared to 223,000 in the first estimate.
The unemployment rate in July remained pat at 5.3%, an April 2008 low
Average hourly earnings increased by 0.2% last month. That put them 2.1% above the year-ago level, but a bit shy of the 2.3% growth rate expected by analysts.
A broad measure of being out of work that includes people who want to work but have given up searching and people working part-time because they cannot find full-time jobs fell to a seven-year low of 10.4% in July. The workweek duration edged up to 34.6 hours on average from 34.5 hours last month.
The number of jobs in the public sector rose 5,000 while the private sector added 210,000 new jobs in July. Factory payrolls increased 15,000. 193,000 people were employed in the services sector. The retail sector added 36,000 jobs. The hotel and entertainment industry gained 30,000.
But the labor force participation rate, or the share of working-age Americans who are employed or at least looking for a job, held flat at 62.6% in July as expected.
