Employers add 209,000 jobs last month

Unemployment rate falls to 4.3%

U.S. payrolls surged for the second straight month in July as employers added 209,000 jobs, underscoring that hiring remains robust despite a tight labor market making it tougher to find workers.

The unemployment rate, which is calculated from a different survey, fell to 4.3% from 4.4% as a big gain in employment offset a large rise in the number of Americans working or looking for jobs, the Labor Department said Friday.

Average hourly wages rose 9 cents to $26.36, keeping annual gains unchanged at 2.5%. Earnings growth has picked up the past year or two from the 2% pace that marked most of the recovery. It has fallen from nearly 3% earlier in the year. Economists expected the low unemployment rate to prompt businesses to hike salaries more sharply as they struggle to find available workers.

The labor market has been volatile in recent months. Employment gains were lackluster in May, leading to unexpectedly strong advances in June. Michael Gapen, chief U.S. economist of Barclays, said before Friday’s report was released that it probably would more accurately reflect this year’s overall trend.

That trend has revealed a modest slowing in average monthly job gains to a stillsturdy 184,000 from 187,000 last year and 226,000 in 2015. Economists pointed to the low unemployment rate making it harder for employers to find workers. Many analysts expected the tight market to reduce monthly job additions more sharply. Instead, hiring may be bolstered by discouraged workers resuming their job searches in the improved market, some economists said.