July Jobs Report shows 215,000 jobs created

From McClatchy DC

The economy added 215,000 jobs last month, a welcome sign that the recovery is chugging along without losing steam.

The unemployment rate remained at 5.3 percent, according to the latest Labor Department report, and wages continued their slow creep upward.

The jobs data came in exactly at the consensus forecast from mainstream economists, but it was a report that was anything but boring. Second-quarter growth was a disappointing 2.3 percent and the jobs number eased concerns of a slowdown.

Here are three important takeaways from Friday’s numbers.

When not rounded to 5.3 percent, the unemployment rate actually fell below its average before the Great Recession. That’s a first time in this economic recovery.

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