WASHINGTON, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S. employers added 164,000 jobs in July and the unemployment rate remained at 3.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.
Job gains mainly occurred in professional and technical services, health care, social assistance, and financial activities, the bureau said.
July's total nonfarm payroll employment was down from June's downwardly revised number of 193,000, and was slightly lower than the Dow Jones forecast of 165,000.
After a downward revision for nonfarm payroll employment in both May and June, jobs gains averaged 140,000 per month over the past three months, the bureau said.
The job gains in July were in line with the average employment growth in the first half of the year, but lower than an average monthly gain of 223,000 in 2018.
The unemployment rate dropped to 3.6 percent in April, hitting the lowest level since December 1969, and stood at 3.6 percent in May, before bouncing back at 3.7 percent in June.
Average hourly earnings for all private-sector workers in July rose by 8 cents to 27.98 U.S. dollars. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have grown by 3.2 percent.
U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) on Wednesday lowered the target for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to a range of 2 percent to 2.25 percent, amid rising concerns over trade tensions, a slowing global economy and muted inflation pressures.
The Fed's preferred inflation gauge, the core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, which excludes the volatile food and energy prices, grew 1.6 percent in June year-on-year, lower than the central bank's 2 percent target.
U.S. economic growth slowed to 2.1 percent in the second quarter of this year, marking a sharp slowdown from the 3.1-percent expansion in the first quarter. After a revision, full-year 2018 GDP growth was 2.9 percent.
