US Adds 187k Jobs in July
By: James Flippin · August 07, 2023 · Reading Time: 2 minutes
Workforce Waltz
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the US added 187,000 new jobs in July — mainly in health care, social assistance and financial services industries. On the back of this news, the unemployment rate dipped down to 3.5% from 3.6% in June.
Additionally, the number of Americans actively looking for work — known as the labor force participation rate — was unchanged for the 5th straight month at 62.6%.
Results vs. Expectations
While analysts were expecting the economy to add 200,000 new jobs in July the report came in just a bit lower. Still, the actual figure — 187,000 new jobs — was on par with the 185,000 new jobs that were added to the economy in June. That said, both of these figures were down from May, when the economy added 281,000 new jobs.
Overall, the strength of the labor market has been declining slightly over the past few months, but expectedly so, due to the Federal Reserve’s hawkish stance over the past year.
Economic Perspective
This latest jobs report shows that employers still have a strong demand for workers, which is a sign of a resilient economy. Yes, demand for workers has been cooling over the past few months, but that isn’t altogether surprising due to the Fed’s latest actions.
For the better part of the last year, the Federal Reserve has been hiking interest rates at the most aggressive pace in decades. Still, the continued demand for workers is a sign that US companies are still fairing well and growing.
The latest jobs report, coupled with June’s 3% inflation report, shows that the US economy is still holding strong.
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