U.S. Unemployment Rate Unchanged at 4.5 Percent in JulyThe U.S. unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.5 percent in July while the struggling economy cut 42,000 jobs, the Labor Department reported Friday.Economists had projected the jobless rate would rise to 4.7 percent in July from 4.5 percent in June. Businesses cut payrolls for the second month in a row, shedding 42,000 jobs in July after a loss of 93,000 in June, a smaller decline than the government previous estimate of 114,000 jobs. Manufacturing, which has been hardest hit by the yearlong economic slowdown, cut 49,000 jobs in July, bringing the total job loss in the sector to 837,000 during the past year. The loss in manufacturing jobs in July was less than half the size of the losses in each of the prior three months. The biggest declines in manufacturing last month continued to be at electrical equipment companies, which lost 24,000 jobs, and in industrial machinery, which cut 21,000 jobs. Meanwhile, only 5,000 jobs were added in the service sector in July, the weakest showing since August 2000. A major factor has been large job losses at temporary employment companies. Employment at those businesses declined for the 10th month in a row, totaling a job loss of 429,000 over that period. Economists worry that the increasing unemployment might force households to cut spending, tipping the economy into recession. Consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, has been the main force that has kept the economy out of recession in the past year. In a separate household survey, the Labor Department said the number of unemployed persons fell by 27,000 to 6.4 million in July. |
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