U.S. job gains in July exceed market expectations

The U.S. job market continued its steady growth in July, a sign of underlying strength for the job market despite mixed economic signals.

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 255,000 in July, the Labor Department said Friday.

The number of newly created jobs exceeded the average market forecast of around 180,000. Over the past three months, job gains have averaged 190,000 per month.

The jobless rate remained unchanged at 4.9 percent in July, as more people entered the labor market to find jobs.

The labor force participation rate, the share of the working-age population employed or looking for a job, went up to 62.8 percent.

Average hourly earnings for all employees increased 8 cents to 25.69 U.S. dollars, following a 2-cent increase in June. The average hourly earnings have risen by 2.6 percent year-on-year, the same growth rate as in June.

Although the payroll gains slowed this year compared to an average of more than 200,000 per month over the course of 2015, "even 150,000 job gains per month would be consistent with gradually using up any remaining slack present in the U.S. labor market," William Dudley, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and a close ally of Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, said recently.

Dudley said that it is premature to rule out further monetary policy tightening this year and warned that market expectations may be putting insufficient weight on the possibility that the economy could outperform expectations.

The U.S. Federal Reserve left the benchmark interest rate unchanged last week, and said that near-term risks to the economic outlook have diminished.

Analysts widely believe that the expression may indicate that conditions are getting more favorable for further interest rate hikes in the future. Endi