The U.S. economy added 209,000 jobs in July and the unemployment rate was 4.3 percent, according to a government report Friday.
Economists surveyed by Reuters had expected the report to show growth of 183,000 with the jobless rate ticking down to 4.3 percent, the lowest since March 2001. A more encompassing rate that includes discouraged workers and the underemployed was unchanged at 8.6 percent.