The unemployment rate in July ticked down from 3.6% in June to 3.5% in July, according to the Labor Department.
In the month, the agency reported nonfarm payrolls added 187,000 jobs, missing the Dow Jones’ analysts estimate of 200,000. The total was a slight gain from the revised 185,000 jobs added in June.
Satyam Panday, U.S. chief economist at S&P Global Ratings, said the labor market seems to be humming along rather well.
“A 3.5% unemployment rate, you can’t complain about that,” Pandy said. “It is a nice glide path down. We would have liked to see wage growth come down a little, but the purchasing power of the consumer seems to be holding up well.”
The 3.5% unemployment rate is just above the lowest level since late 1969.
Average hourly earnings rose 0.4% for the month, a 4.4% annual pace increase. Both numbers were higher than the respective estimates.
