Job numbers

The depression continues:

Employers expanded their payrolls by 207,000 in July, the most in five months, while unemployment rate held steady at 5 percent, the government reported today.

:

...Revised figures released today for May and June showed that payroll gains in those months proved stronger than previously thought. The number of jobs increased by 126,000 in May and 166,000 in June.

I'm sure, however, that some people will seize on this:

Boosts in hiring came in retailing, education and health services, financial activities and construction. But factories shed jobs for the second straight month.

Of course, all that means is that the U.S. is continuing its shift towards a service-based economy. And as someone who has worked both in a factory and in services, let me tell you, services is infinitely preferable.