Government reports a modest 157,000 new jobs generated in July. Wages rise but fall behind inflation

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday a gain of 170,000 seasonally adjusted new private-sector jobs in July, but there was a loss of 13,000 public sector jobs, bringing the total gain to 157,000. That was far below the 190,000 gain that the consensus of experts expected. The headline unemployment rate fell to 3.9 percent. July’s gains marked the 94th consecutive month of overall job growth.