US unemployment rate slides to 3.9% in July; 157,000 new jobs created

US employment has risen for 94 consecutive months, the longest jobs-expansion streak on record

IANS  |  Washington 

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The United States' headline rate dropped to 3.9 per cent in July, a month in which in the world's largest rose by 157,000, the Department said on Friday.

US employment has risen for 94 consecutive months, the longest jobs-expansion streak on record.

The rate has now dipped below 4 per cent for the third time this year.

The jobless rate unexpectedly climbed to 4 per cent in June - up from 3.8 per cent in May, the lowest level since 2000 - mainly because more people were actively looking for work.

Average hourly wages for all employees on private rose in July by $0.07 to $27.05; average hourly earnings climbed 2.7 per cent relative to July 2017, and economists expect costs to keep rising.

The US force participation rate (the share of the population 16 years and older either working or seeking work), which peaked at 67.1 per cent in 2000, remained unchanged from the previous month at 62.9 per cent.

"The rate edged down to 3.9 per cent. This is only the eighth time that the monthly unemployment rate has fallen below 4.0 per cent since 1970, and three of those months happened under (Donald) in 2018," US Labour said in a statement on the July jobs report.

"There is a record 156 million people in the labour force. Since Trump's election, more than 1 million prime-age people joined or rejoined the labor force. For the second consecutive month, the unemployment rate for Hispanics reached a record low," the statement added.

Following this latest solid jobs report, it remains likely that the will hike interest rates two more times in 2018.

The Fed has already raised its federal-funds rate twice this year, with that benchmark rate currently set at a range of between 1.75 per cent and 2 per cent.

First Published: Sat, August 04 2018. 08:25 IST