US July non-farm payrolls rise by lower-than-expected 187,000

(Sharecast News) - The US economy added fewer new jobs than expected last month, with official data showing non-farm payroll rose by 187,000 in July, below forecasts of an increase of 200,000. The figure for June was also revised lower from 209,000 to 185,000, while May's number was reduced by 25,000 to 281,000, meaning fewer jobs were created in the spring than first thought.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics has also reported that the unemployment rate fell to 3.5%, down from 3.6% in June.

Average hourly earnings were up 0.4%, higher than the 0.3% expected, but this was offset by a slight fall in the number of hours available.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com