July Jobs Report: Employers Hired 163,000 New Workers

Economists appear to be flummoxed by the economy, which is undergoing structural changes that will be more evident in hindsight. A few things seem to be happening 1) our economy is dependent on the global economy more than ever 2) The recession, which technically ended in June of 2009, was the worst we've ever known, the precipice of a depression 3) People may have permanently shifted their consuming behaviors.
A slow but steady recovery might be the only way for our economy to recover, and it might be the best thing possible for our economy, even though we'll all make sacrifices for that. Romney has no magic wand. He doesn't even have new ideas.

Employers said they added 163,000 jobs in the month, according to a Labor Department report released Friday, much better than the 95,000 jobs economists had forecast.

The U.S. lost 4.3 million jobs in President Obama's first 13 months in office. Track his progress since then. But at the same time, the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 8.3% as households claimed they lost 195,000 jobs.

The government's monthly jobs report comes from two separate surveys: one that looks at employer payrolls, and the other which questions households. Those two reports went in opposite directions in July, confusing the overall reading on the job market. CNNMOney