The U.S. economy added 187,000 jobs in July, and the unemployment rate changed little at 3.5 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The pace of job growth appears to be moderating. In addition, the totals for May and June were revised down to 281,000 and 185,000, respectively.
In a rapid reaction comment, Oxford Economics noted the slowing job growth supports a pause by the Federal Reserve: “The July jobs report is just one datapoint before the September FOMC meeting, but we think it offers enough evidence of cooling labor market conditions to weigh in favor of no additional rate hikes. However, an upside surprise in any of the forthcoming data on the labor market and inflation would put another rate hike back on the table.”
The Fed rece