MNI DATA IMPACT: US Jobs Growth Slows to 1.8M in July

The U.S. economy added back 1.763 million jobs in July as hiring momentum slowed after two months of record-shattering gains, according to data published Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Net revisions for the previous two months were a positive 17,000, bringing the three-month average gain to 3.1 million through June. Still, the unprecedented job growth between May and July accounts for less than half of the 22 million jobs lost in March and April.

July's gain was larger than market expectations for a 1.5 million increase, but roughly a third of June's 4.8 million. New Covid-19 cases have surged in some parts of the country, prompting many states to pause or slow down their reopening plans and consumers to curtail trips outside of the home.

The unemployment rate fell to 10.2% in July from 11.1% in June, the BLS said. Errors in classifying laid off workers as employed have mostly be corrected, but the true rate of unemployment could be 1 percentage point higher than reported.

LEISURE AND HOSPITALITY DOMINATES

Total private payrolls rose by 1.46 million in July, led by gains in leisure and hospitality (+592,000), which accounted for a third of the total gain in payrolls. The vast majority of those jobs were in restaurants and bars. Other service industries including retail trade (+258,300) and education and health services (+215,000) also saw high volumes of hiring.

Government payrolls also grew markedly in July, rising by 301,000 as educators return to work after increasing by only 54,000 in June. Hiring for the 2020 Census also contributed 27,000 to the figure, the BLS said.