Employment rates jumped in July, the second consecutive month of positive jobs growth thanks to renewed vigor in the market.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported payrolls increased by 255,000 last month, exceeding analyst expectations. The labor market has been in flux the past few months, missing projections by a wide margin in May when only 11,000 jobs were added, then rebounding in June with 287,000 jobs added, beating analyst expectations of 177,000. Actually, June’s rates exceeded the previous estimates by 5,000 jobs to a 292,000 gain, Bloomberg reports.
The labor market has cooled this year compared to 2015, and slow economic growth could present challenges for the Federal Reserve as it determines whether the economy can handle an interest rate increase before the end of the year. [Bloomberg]
