Economy Adds 209K Jobs in July

The U.S. economy added a solid 209,000 jobs in July, more than expected as the labor market shows few signs of slowing down. The labor market has churned out nearly 1.3 million jobs in the first seven months of the year.

The unemployment rate fell to 4.3 percent from 4.4, the Commerce Department reported on Friday.

In the past three months, the labor market has averaged growth of 195,000 jobs a month. Reports for May and June were revised upward by 2,000 jobs.

Hourly earnings ticked up slightly, 0.3 percent last month and have risen  2.5 percent over the year.

Retail remained weak last month, only adding 900 jobs in July.  Construction added 6,000 jobs and manufacturers hired 16,000 last month.