Biden labor secretary sees 'slow and steady' growth in July jobs report

WASHINGTON — The U.S. system saw the smallest jobs summation successful July since December 2020, but Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su said the fig reflects what experts progressively judge spot arsenic a :soft landing" for the U.S. economy.

Nonfarm payrolls accrued by 187,000 past month, somewhat beneath expectations, and the unemployment complaint fell somewhat to 3.5%.

"This is an illustration of what dilatory and dependable maturation looks like," Su told CNBC's "Squawk connected the Street" connected Friday.

"This is inactive little than 4% for the longest agelong since the 1960s," Su said of the unemployment rate, which has remained debased for the past 18 months.

She besides touted the "very precocious labour unit information rate, particularly among prime-age workers aged 25 to 54."

The percent of women successful the labour unit rose to 49.9% successful July, a complaint seen lone doubly earlier successful nationalist data: Dec. 2019, conscionable earlier the pandemic, and 2009, erstwhile it roseate arsenic a effect of the precocious fig of men who mislaid jobs successful the Great Recession.

Despite the encouraging numbers, Su said the authorities tin inactive bash a amended occupation of supporting a creaseless modulation for women backmost to enactment successful the post-Covid economy.

"I deliberation that what it's going to instrumentality to further summation labour unit information is going to beryllium addressing immoderate of the structural issues that support workers retired of the labour market," said Su. Securing childcare that is affordable and reliable volition beryllium crucial, she added.