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| US economy adds 163,000 new jobs | |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| US firms hired an extra 163,000 workers in July, according to official figures, beating economists' forecasts. | |
| However, the unemployment rate rose from 8.2% to 8.3% last month, as more people re-entered the workforce but failed to find a job. | However, the unemployment rate rose from 8.2% to 8.3% last month, as more people re-entered the workforce but failed to find a job. |
| The US Department of Labor also said 6,000 fewer jobs were created in May and June than first estimated. | The US Department of Labor also said 6,000 fewer jobs were created in May and June than first estimated. |
| The US economy has to generate 100,000 new jobs a month just to stand still, according to the Federal Reserve. | The US economy has to generate 100,000 new jobs a month just to stand still, according to the Federal Reserve. |
| The total number of unemployed people was 12.8 million last month, unchanged from June. | The total number of unemployed people was 12.8 million last month, unchanged from June. |
| Private sector firms hired an extra 172,000 staff, which more than offset the 9,000 fall in government payrolls. | |
| The figures were better than most economists had forecast. | |
| "We are not seeing large-scale layoffs, so job destruction is pretty limited," said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James & Associates. | |
| There were also signs that Americans were optimistic about finding a job. The number of discouraged workers - people not looking for work because they believe there are no jobs - fell 267,000 to 852,000. | |
| The number of involuntary part-time workers, those whose hours have been cut back or who could not find full-time jobs, was unchanged at 8.2 million. | The number of involuntary part-time workers, those whose hours have been cut back or who could not find full-time jobs, was unchanged at 8.2 million. |
| Faltering economic recovery? | |
| Last week, official data showed the US economy grew at an annual rate of 1.5% in the second three months of the year, that was slower than the 2% pace at the start of 2012. | |
| On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve said its programme to reduce long-term borrowing costs for firms and households would continue for the rest of the year. | |
| Under Operation Twist, the Fed buys long-term bonds from retail lenders and swaps them for shorter-term bonds. | |
| But it disappointed some investors by not announcing any fresh measures to stimulate economic growth. | |
| The Fed has kept base interest rates at close to zero for nearly four years and pumped $2.3bn into the economy. |