The U.S. economy added a better-than-expected 163,000 new net jobs in July, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Department of Labor, but the official unemployment rate rose from 8.2% to 8.3%. The data includes 172,000 new private-sector jobs, and about 9,000 fewer public-sector jobs.
After a promising start to the new year in January and February, when more than 200,000 jobs were reported each month, the spring and summer period had been marked by a job-creation slowdown.
However, the number of jobs created in July was higher than expected. One forecast, from Business Insider, had projected payrolls to increase by 106,000 net jobs during July.
The July jobs data follows mixed reports on the economy. Recent surveys indicate that manufacturing activity has declined and that the economy grew by only 1.5% in the second quarter of 2012, but consumer confidence rose by 3 points in July.
In a somewhat contradictory bit of data, the Labor Department said labor force participation decreased by 155,000 in July. Normally, when jobs increase by more than 150,000 and the unemployment rate rises, it’s because more people are entering the labor force.
The July data are preliminary and subject to revision in subsequent months. The government revised the June employment report downward from 80,000 new jobs to 64,000.
Economists say the U.S. must create 150,000 new jobs each month just to keep pace with changes in the labor force, and it must create about 250,000 new jobs each month to quickly bring down the unemployment rate.
