America’s economy has beaten expectations by creating 209,000 new jobs in July. An upbeat Non-Farm Payroll report also showed the jobless rate has fallen to 4.3%, while annual wage growth remained at 2.5%.
The labor force participation rate picked up too.
Many of the new jobs were low-paid, though, while manufacturing continued to shrink as a share of the economy.
Wall Street cheered the NFP report, sending the Dow Jones industrial average to a new all-time high.
Version:1.0 StartHTML:000000273 EndHTML:000642876 StartFragment:000641027 EndFragment:000642768 StartSelection:000641027 EndSelection:000642745 SourceURL:https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2017/aug/04/us-dollar-grand-jury-non-farm-payroll-jobs-business-liveDow hits record high after US jobs report beats forecasts – as it happened | Business | The Guardian
Marcus Bullus, trading director of MB Capital, says:
“After seven straight record closes, the Dow’s reaction to Friday’s solid US jobs data has been balanced rather than breathless – with much of the cheerleading left to President Trump.
“But nevertheless there’s much to be reassured by in this comprehensively strong jobs print.
“Yes the headline figures are impressive, both on the job creation and unemployment rate fronts.
“But the details are arguably more important – the participation rate is creeping up as more Americans return to work, and average wages continue their solid upward progress.
“With more Americans working, and more Americans earning more, the US’s consumer-led growth remains firmly on track – powering equitities into a sustained bull run.