Via CNBC:
The U.S. economy closed out an otherwise weak second quarter by creating more jobs than expected, with 163,000 new positions added, but the unemployment rate rose to 8.3 percent.
Markets reacted positively to the announcement, with stock futures indicating gains at the Wall Street open. Economists had been expecting 100,000 new jobs.
As the country struggles to gain growth traction, the unemployment rate held above 8 percent for the 41st consecutive month, according to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“While the monthly gain is still relatively small by historical standards, it might help spark somewhat higher consumer optimism and spending,” Kathy Bostjancic, director of macroeconomic analysis at The Conference Board, said in response to the report.
Professional and business services led the job gains with 49,000 new positions, while the hospitality industry added 29,000 and manufacturing grew by 25,000.
June’s anemic 80,000 gain was revised down to just 64,000.
Update: Dems are already spinning this as a “step in the right direction.”
(CNSNews.com) – There were 195,000 fewer people employed in the United States in July than in June, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as the national unemployment rate ticked up from 8.2 percent to 8.3 percent.
Meanwhile, 150,000 people simply dropped out of the labor force during the month and did not seek to find a job.
In June, according to BLS, there had been 142,415,000 people employed in the United States. In July, that dropped to 142,220,000–a decline of 195,000.
Similarly, in June, there were 155,163,000 people in the civilian labor force in the United States. To be counted in the civilian labor force, person must be 16 years old or older, not be in the military, prison or a mental institution, and either have a job or have actively looked for a job in the past four weeks.
In July, the number of people in the civilian labor force was 155,013,000–a decline of 150,000 from June.