U.S. Jobs Growth Slowed In July But Remains Solid

The US jobs growth in July was slower than anticipated and was revised lower for the previous two months. Although, strong pay growth and a drop in the unemployment rate indicated that labour market conditions remained tight.

The labor department said on Friday that the economy added 187,000 non-farm jobs. 1,85,000 jobs were added in June according to updated data, down from the previously reported 2,09,000

The labour market is still tight even though employment growth has slowed down. The unemployment rate fall to 3.5% from 3.6% in June.

That is far less than the Fed's most recent median projection, which estimated fourth-quarter growth at 4.1%. In June, there were still 1.6 open jobs for every unemployed worker, according to official data released this week.

Hourly earnings growth exceeded expectations and were 4.4% year over year, well above the levels thought to be consistent with the Fed's aim of 2% inflation. Wages kept increasing at a steady rate. After increasing by the same percentage in June, the average hourly wage increased by 0.4%.