The United States added fewer jobs than anticipated in the month of July, but the labor market remains rock-solid. In July, 157,000 jobs were added, which is lower than the anticipated 190,000 jobs. However, the unemployment rate edged down to 3.9%, narrowly missing an 18-year low. The labor force participation rate remained at a strong 62.9%.
Revised jobs for May and April 2018
The Bureau also reported revised job gains for May and June and May of this year. The number of jobs added in May was revised from 213,000 jobs to a whopping 248,000. And in June, the revised number of jobs added increased from 244,000 to 268,000 jobs. The results equal a net change of 59,000 jobs added.
Over the past three months, the number of jobs added averages out to 224,000.
Average hourly earnings increase
Average hourly earnings also increased by $0.07 or an average $27.05. Over the last year, average hourly earnings have increased by $0.71 or 2.7%.
Employment numbers by industry
Once again, employment in the Professional & Business Services industry led the way in July with 51,000 added jobs. Over the 12 months, Professional & Business Services added a total of 518,000 jobs.
Manufacturing came in second with an added 37,000 jobs. Over the last year, the manufacturing industry added 327,000 jobs. Healthcare followed closely with 34,000 jobs added. Hospitals added 7,000 jobs and social assistance, individual and family services
added a combined 14,000.
Food services increased 26,000 in the month of July with a total increase of 203,000 jobs over the year. Construction followed with an increase of 19,000 jobs. The construction industry has added a staggering 308,000 jobs over the year. Retail saw a slight increase of 7,000. This is favorable to the 22,000 jobs lost in June 2018.
The employment in other major industries, including wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, information, financial activities, mining, and government showed little to no change over the month.
Check out our infographic below for more stats from the July 2018 Jobs Report:
