From MEMA Industry News
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC — A disappointing employment report from the Department of Commerce last week caught Wall Street off guard and sent stock prices tumbling for the second day in a row. The unemployment rate edged down slightly to 5.5 percent in July, from 5.6 percent in June, but the bad news came in the area of job creation. Only 32,000 new jobs were added in July; economists had been expecting more than 200,000.
Employment gains in health care and social assistance and in professional and business services were partially offset by job losses in financial activities. Manufacturing employment edged up by 10,000 in July. Since its most recent low in January, manufacturing employment has risen by 91,000, almost entirely in its durable goods component.
The report for July found job gains in computer and electronic products, machinery, furniture, and paper and paper products. Gains in these and other manufacturing industries were partly offset by a decline of 21,000 in transportation equipment, reflecting larger-than-usual shutdowns of auto parts and assembly plants for annual retooling.
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