July Labor Report Shows Signs That Recession May be Ending

The July labor report was released and showed the first drop in the unemployment rate in 15 months, going from June's rate of 9.5 percent to the current rate of 9.4 percent. According to the report the average monthly job loss for many through July (-331,000) was about half the average decline for November through April (-645,000).

In addition to the drop in the jobless rate, the report also showed that workers hours and pay also experienced an increase. The average hourly earnings from June were $18.53 and rose to $18.56 in July.

A total of 247,000 jobs were lost in July- the fewest losses this year and a huge improvement since the 443,000 losses reported in June.

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