In a monthly jobs report that brought seemingly contradictory data, nonfarm payroll employment declined by 23,000 in July, yet the national unemployment rate fell from 4.2% to 4.1% during the month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.
The disappointing jobs figures are actually considered good news on one front, as economists believe the report is likely to convince the Federal Reserve to not raise interest rates at its next meeting.
Investors initially responded positively to the report, as the Dow Futures market was up by 170 points, to 54,187, as of 7:45 a.m. Central Standard Time.
There were some bright spots in the report, as the number of unemployed people dropped from 7.1 million to 6.9 million.
Employment in healthcare continued its upward trend, adding 22,000 jobs, but at a slower pace than the average monthly gain of 36,000 jobs over the prior 12 months.
However, employment in local government and education declined by 50,000 in July, after showing little change over the prior 12 months.
The labor force participation rate, at 61.4%, remained the same.
The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for May was revised down by 66,000, from 129,000 to 63,000, and the change for June was revised down by 37,000, from 57,000 to 20,000.
With these revisions, employment in May and June combined is 103,000 lower than previously reported.
