The U.S. economy added 157,000 jobs in July, below expectations, as the job market cooled but remained strong amid a tightening labor market.
The unemployment rate fell to 3.9 from 4 percent in June, the Labor Department reported on Friday.
Estimates had been set at about 190,000 jobs in July.
Employers added 268,000 jobs in May and 248,000 in June.
“Job growth slowed a bit in July to 157,000, but that followed two straight months of very strong gains, and the job market is in great shape in the middle of 2018,” said Gus Faucher, chief economist at PNC.
