Private payrolls up 71,000, economists had been expecting growth of 100,000
By Greg Robb, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. employers continued to hire but at a sluggish pace that adds to pessimism about the economic outlook and may put pressure of the Federal Reserve to take more steps to support the economy.
Private sector payrolls rose by an estimated 71,000 in July, the Labor Department said.
Total nonfarm payrolls fell by a seasonally adjusted 131,000 in July, but all the lost jobs were temporary jobs at the U.S. Census.
The number of temporary Census 2101 workers dropped by 143,000. There are still 196,000 census workers on the payroll.
The nation's unemployment rate held steady at 9.5%.
The increase in private payrolls was weaker than the 100,000 increase that had been expected by Wall Street economists surveyed by MarketWatch. See calendars and forecasts of major U.S. indicators
Adding to the sense of weakness in employment, private payrolls in May and June were revised lower by a cumulative 34,000.
Private job growth has averaged 51,000 over the past three months. This is down from an average growth of 154,000 in February- April.
The separate household survey showed a decline in employment of 159,000 in July, and a 24,000 drop in unemployment. But since the size of the labor force as calculated by the Labor Department fell by 181,000, the unemployment rate held steady.
The job report should add to the growing sense that the Federal Reserve will take more steps to try to revive the economy.
The report suggests that businesses remain cautious in the wake of the financial markets' recent turmoil.
July's data details
Much of the weakness in last month's nonfarm payroll growth was concentrated in the service sector. Read the full report.
Retail added only 6,700 jobs. Temporary help services were flat. Service providing industries shed 164,000 jobs.
Manufacturing jobs increased by 36,000. Most of the gain was from the auto sector. Construction jobs fell by 11,000.
Financial services shed 17,000.
Health-care industries added 27,000 jobs, while restaurants and bars added 6,000.
Government lost 202,000 jobs in July.
Meanwhile, the average hourly wage increased 2 cents, or 0.1%, in July to $19.04, in line with expectations. Hourly wages are up 2.3% in the past year.
The average workweek rose six minutes 34.2 hours.
Average hours worked in manufacturing also rose six minutes, while factory overtime fell six minutes to x.x hours for July.
