The U.S. economy added 209,000 jobs in July

The latest jobs figures have been released — and the exciting news is that the U.S. economy added 209,000 jobs in July, less than the 298,000 new jobs created in June, but still a decent figure and significantly more than July last year when 149,000 jobs were added, or July 2012 when 160,000 were added.
As the American Enterprise Institute's James Pethokoukis points out, this was the first time since 1997 that the economy added 200,000 jobs for six straight months.
The bad news is that unemployment rose to 6.2 percent. But this is more positive than it looks — as FiveThirtyEight's Ben Casselman points out, 200,000 people who had dropped out of the labor force started looking again for jobs, suggesting a deepening sense of economic optimism.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The jobs figures show pretty much the same picture as the private survey by ADP that showed the U.S. economy added 210,000 jobs in July, solidifying the picture that the economic recovery continues to strengthen in spite of the ongoing tapering by the Federal Reserve and the ongoing geopolitical turmoil worldwide.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
John Aziz is the economics and business correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is also an associate editor at Pieria.co.uk. Previously his work has appeared on Business Insider, Zero Hedge, and Noahpinion.
-
The battle for 21st century naturism laid bare
In The Spotlight Nudist lifestyle falling out of favour in Germany but naked attraction is on the rise in the UK
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
The Week Unwrapped: Why do young people love ASMR?
Podcast Plus can US football stamp out homophobia? And why is Scottish Gallic getting a TV boost?
By The Week UK Published
-
Quiz of The Week: 1 - 7 March
Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
By The Week Staff Published
-
Crafting emporium Joann is going out of business
Speed Read The 82-year-old fabric and crafts store will be closing all 800 of its stores
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump's China tariffs start after Canada, Mexico pauses
Speed Read The president paused his tariffs on America's closest neighbors after speaking to their leaders, but his import tax on Chinese goods has taken effect
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Chinese AI chatbot's rise slams US tech stocks
Speed Read The sudden popularity of a new AI chatbot from Chinese startup DeepSeek has sent U.S. tech stocks tumbling
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US port strike averted with tentative labor deal
Speed Read The strike could have shut down major ports from Texas to Maine
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden expected to block Japanese bid for US Steel
Speed Read The president is blocking the $14 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel by Japan's Nippon Steel, citing national security concerns
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Judges block $25B Kroger-Albertsons merger
Speed Read The proposed merger between the supermarket giants was stalled when judges overseeing two separate cases blocked the deal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Rupert Murdoch loses 'Succession' court battle
Speed Read Murdoch wanted to give full control of his empire to son Lachlan, ensuring Fox News' right-wing editorial slant
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Bitcoin surges above $100k in post-election rally
Speed Read Investors are betting that the incoming Trump administration will embrace crypto
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published