The US unemployment rate unexpectedly held steady in July as fewer jobs were lost than feared while May and June's job performance was revised up, according to a report issued on Friday that still indicated things in the overall economy were soft.
The July unemployment rate was 4.5 per cent, matching June's level but up from 4.4 per cent in May. Another 42,000 jobs were shed in July on top of 93,000 lost in June, while 41,000 were created in May. The July figures beat Wall Street economists' forecasts that 50,000 jobs would be cut and that the unemployment rate would rise to 4.6 per cent.
Previously, the US government said that only 8,000 jobs were created in May and that a steeper 114,000 were lost in June.
Still, another 49,000 manufacturing jobs were lost in July - continuing a year-long slide in this category.
The report is unlikely to ease the pressure on the Federal Reserve to keep trimming interest rates to try to pep up a sluggish economy, with many analysts now saying a hoped-for pickup from a year-long slowdown could well be delayed into next year.