U.S. Non-farm Payrolls Grew More than Expected

U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose 209k in July compared to expectations for a 190K increase. The June 222k job gain was revised up to 231k, but May’s 152k increase was bumped down to 145. There was no revision to June’s 0.2% earnings rise. The unemployment rate was dipped to 4.3% versus 4.4%. The labor force jumped 349k following the prior 361k gain, while household employment increased 345k from 245k. The workweek was steady at 34.5. Total private payrolls increased 205k. The goods producing sector added 22k workers, with construction up 6k, and manufacturing up 16k. Jobs in the services sector increased 183k, with the 62k gain in leisure/hospitality leading the way. Education/healthcare gains were up 54k, while business services added 49k. Government jobs rose 4k, with the Federal sector unchanged.

There was other data on Friday on the jobs front. U.S. NFIB small business hiring plans jumped 4 points to 19.0% in July, after sliding to 15% in June from May’s 18%. This is the highest since November 2006, and ties for the fourth best of all time, going back to 1997. According to the report, “87% of owners who hired or tried to hire reported difficulty finding qualified workers. Nineteen percent of owners cited the difficulty of finding qualified workers as their single most important problem, up four points from June.” Additionally, “35% of owners reported jobs they couldn’t fill in July,” up 5 points over June, and is the highest reading since 2001. ”

Canadian Jobs Grew

To the north of the U.S. Canada also released jobs data.  Canada employment grew 10.9k in July after the 45.3k gain in June. Full-time employment grew 35.1k following an 8.1k rise. Part time employment fell 24.3k on the heels of a 37.1k run-up. The unemployment rate fell to 6.3% in July from 6.5% in June, marking a fresh post great recession low. The participation rate declined to 65.7 in July from 65.9 in June.