US adds 114,000 jobs in July, falling short of estimates

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - The US economy added 114,000 jobs in July, significantly below market estimates, according to figures released Friday by the Labor Department.

The market expectation for nonfarm payrolls was a gain of 176,000 jobs last month.

Job additions for June were also revised down by 27,000, from 206,000 to 179,000.

The unemployment rate increased to 4.3% in July from 4.1% in June, against market expectations that it would remain unchanged.

The number of unemployed people decreased to 5.9 million in July from 6.8 million in June, while the labor force participation rate edged up to 62.7% from 62.6% during that period.