Reuters (08/05/23) Mutikani, Lucia

The U.S. economy added fewer jobs than expected in July, but solid wage gains and a decline in the unemployment rate back to 3.5% pointed to continued tightness in labor market conditions. With the labor market still tight, wages continued to rise at a brisk clip. Average hourly earnings climbed 0.4%, matching the gain in June. That kept the year-to-year increase in wages at 4.4%. Wages are now rising faster than inflation, boosting households’ purchasing power and underpinning consumer spending as well as keeping the overall economy afloat.

This article originally appeared on reuters.com. Use this link to see the full article: US job growth slowing, but wage gains remain strong