Steady hiring benefiting broader group of Americans

Years of steady job gains have finally begun to benefit a wider range of Americans, including those with less education and in lower-paying jobs.

A second straight month of robust hiring – 255,000 jobs added in July – pointed to employer confidence that suggested that the economy is powering through a slump that struck early this year. The unemployment rate remained a low 4.9 percent, the Labor Department said Friday.

Hiring has been solid for six years, but for most of that time there were caveats: Average hourly pay was stagnant. And millions were no longer either working or looking for work, leaving a smaller proportion of adults in the labor force.

Evidence is emerging that those long-running weak spots are finally improving. Many businesses are offering higher pay to attract workers as competition to fill jobs heats up. Average pay is up 2.6 percent from a year ago – matching the best 12-month gain since the Great Recession ended in 2009.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

This story was originally published August 5, 2016 at 6:04 PM with the headline "Steady hiring benefiting broader group of Americans."