"This isn't a disaster of a report but it shows the U.S. remains vulnerable to a slower economic growth performance"
- Julia Coronado, chief economist for North America at BNP Paribas
A bunch of mixed economic data was released on Friday, as U.S. employers added fewer workers than expected in July, the jobless rate fell more than estimated, while the recent 1.5% growth in factory orders gives the Fed more room to keep the quantitative easing at high velocity for longer than predicted. The 162,000 increase in payrolls in July was the smallest in four months, and less than a revised 188,000 a month earlier. Figure is a disappointment for economists as they expected an 185,000 gain, however, workers spent fewer hours on the job and the hourly earnings dropped for the first time since October. The unemployment rate edged down to 7.4% from 7.6% in June, and outpacing analysts' projections of a reading of 7.5%.
Also Friday, the Department of Commerce said that total bookings for domestic-made products expanded just 1.5%, pushing the value of orders to factories to $496.7 billion. The latest figures missed economists' forecasts pointing to a 2.3% gain, while in May demand jumped 3%. Even though the majority of analysts are seeing Fed tapering its asset-purchase programme in September, latest data is raising concerns of such a move, as the world's largest economy is struggling to grow.
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