So-called recovery: Only 162,000 jobs created, jobless rate at 7.4 percent

The Obama recovery isn't one.

From the Wall Street Journal:

U.S. job growth dampened as the summer got under way, with employers adding 162,000 jobs in July, once again led by lower-wage positions in the retail and food services industries.

The unemployment rate, derived from a separate Labor Department survey, fell to 7.4%—its lowest level since December 2008—partly because the number of employed people rose, though some also dropped out of the labor force.

Employers added fewer jobs than expected in July. This could keep the Fed from tapering later this fall, Greg McBride, senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com says on MoneyBeat.

The Labor Department's seasonally adjusted July payrolls figure, coupled with a downward revisions of 26,000 jobs in the prior two months, points to a recent pullback in the pace of hiring. For July, economists had predicted the payrolls would increase by 183,000 jobs. Average hourly earnings also fell for the first time in nine months.

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