Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hiring sizzled in July in business services, manufacturing and hospitality.
Professional services, which includes jobs in computer systems, architecture and temporary help, added 51,000 jobs last month. Over the past year, it has hired more than a half-million Americans and stands as the leading job-creating sector.
Manufacturing added 37,000 jobs, the most in seven months. Nearly all the gains came from makers of durable goods such as machinery, computer components and auto parts.
Restaurants, bars and hotels added 40,000 jobs, the most in nine months.
Sectors that didn't fare as well included financial services, government and transportation, all of which lost jobs.
Overall, U.S. employers added 157,000 jobs in July. The unemployment rate slipped to 3.9 percent, from 4 percent, the Labor Department said Friday.
| Industry (change from previous month) | July 2018 | June 2018 | Past 12 months |
| Construction | 19,000 | 13,000 | 308,000 |
| Manufacturing | 37,000 | 33,000 | 327,000 |
| Retail | 7,100 | -20,200 | 96,400 |
| Transportation, warehousing | -1,300 | 18,900 | 160,900 |
| Information (Telecom, publishing) | 0 | 1,000 | -21,000 |
| Financial services | -5,000 | 10,000 | 106,000 |
| Professional services (Accounting, engineering, temp work) | 51,000 | 43,000 | 518,000 |
| Education and health | 22,000 | 69,000 | 427,000 |
| Hotels, restaurants, entertainment | 40,000 | 34,000 | 254,000 |
| Government | -13,000 | 14,000 | 8,000 |
| Source: Labor Department |
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
