US economy adds 215,000 jobs in July

The country’s unemployment rate remained stable, staying at 5.3 per cent for the second month in a row

The country’s unemployment rate remained stable, staying at 5.3 per cent for the second month in a row (STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)

The U.S. economy added 215,000 jobs last month, showing a steady rise in the employment market which may prompt the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in September.

The country’s unemployment rate remained stable, staying at 5.3 per cent for the second month in a row.

This year monthly job growth in the U.S. has averaged 211,286, an indication that employers are confident that a continuing recovery from the recession in 2007 will sustain consumer demand and require larger numbers of employees.

Despite this, the economy's overall growth has been modest with humble pay rises for workers - average hourly earnings in July increased just 2.1 per cent.

Since the financial crisis the Federal Reserve has held its key short-term rate near zero. After over six years into the recovery the Federal Reserve chair, Janet Yellen has now suggested that the economy needs higher rates.

Despite the Federal Reserve proposing that economy is strong enough to withstand higher borrowing rates, reports suggest that many Americans are wary of a recovery defined by modest economic growth and small pay raises.

Jason Furman, the head of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said in a statement reported by NPR: “Over the past two years, our economy created 5.7 million jobs, the strongest two-year job growth since 2000. And our businesses have created 13.0 million jobs over the past 65 straight months, extending the longest streak on record.”

“But despite the rapid pace of recent growth, some slack left over from the financial crisis remains in our labour market, and there is more work to do to ensure that we continue to make progress.”

Approximately 8.3 million Americans are still looking for jobs since the recession officially began in late 2007.

An additional 14.4 million people have left the job market, either through abandoning their job searches or through going into retirement.

This means that the proportion of working adults has fallen to 59 per cent from nearly 63 per cent eight years ago.

Additional reporting by Associated Press