Jobless rate falls to 7.4%; 162K jobs added

The U.S. unemployment rate fell to a four-year low of 7.4 percent in July as 162,000 jobs were added, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. The rate was down two ticks from June's 7.6 percent but economists had been expecting more than 180,000 jobs to be added to the economy. The bureau said the number of unemployed persons dropped by 300,000 to 11.5 million in July. The long-term unemployed, counting those without jobs for 27 weeks or more, was little changed at 4.2 million, the bureau said. There were also 8.2 million in the month listed as part-time workers who work less than full time not by choice, but due to economic reasons. An additional 2.4 million are deemed marginally attached to the labor force, which includes 988,000 who are termed discouraged workers who believe there is no job available for them and 1.4 million persons who have dropped out of the labor force to attend school or meet family obligations. That number is little changed over 12 months, the bureau said. Retail gained 47,000 jobs in the month, adding 352,000 in the past 12 months. The hospitality industry, up 381,000 jobs in 12 months, picked up 38,000 jobs in July. Financial firms added 15,000 jobs in July. Wholesale trades gained 14,000. Manufacturing and healthcare were "essentially unchanged," the bureau said. Average hourly wages in the month dropped 2 cents to $23.98 per hour after gaining 10 cents in June.