The US economy added 209,000 new jobs in July, according to a new report from the Labor Department. Despite the jobs growth, the unemployment rate edged up 0.1 points to 6.2 percent. However, the unemployment rate has fallen 1.1 percentage points over the past twelve months.
The Labor Department reports that 9.7 million people remain unemployed. This is despite the economy adding 9.9 million jobs since February 2010. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez says that there have been 53 consecutive months of private sector job growth, the longest streak in Labor Department record-keeping.
Government data shows that the unemployment rate increased among adult women to 5.7 percent and 11.4 percent for blacks in the month of July. Both groups had seen declines in June. The unemployment rates had little or no change for adult men (5.7 percent), teenagers (20.2 percent), whites (5.3 percent), and Hispanics (7.8 percent).
The improving economy has resulted in 200,000+ jobs per month for six straight months. That’s the first time that has happened since the Dotcom boom of the late 90s.
The Labor Department also reported an upward revision of jobs from May and June. The new numbers added 15,000 more jobs than previously reported. Monthly jobs reports at the start of the month are typically tentative. The Labor Department revises their monthly jobs reports with more accurate numbers in the following months.
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