US: Nonfarm payrolls increased 164K in July as expected

• Unemployment stays unchanged at 3.7% in July as expected.
• Wage inflation, as measured by average hourly earnings, ticks up to 3.2% (YoY) in July.
• June’s NFP reading of 224,000 gets revised down to 193,000.    

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday reported that Nonfarm Payrolls in July increased by 164,000 following June’s reading of +193,000 (revised from 224,000) and came in line with the market expectation.

With the initial reaction, the US Dollar Index inched lower and was last down 0.21% on the day at 98.18.

Key takeaways from the press release

“The unemployment rate held at 3.7%  in July, and the number of unemployed persons was little changed at 6.1 million.”

“In July, the labor force participation rate was 63.0%, and the employment-population ratio was 60.7%.”

“The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls decreased by 0.1 hour to 34.3 hours in July.”

“In July, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 8 cents to $27.98, following an 8-cent   gain in June. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.2%.