The U.S. unemployment rate slid back to 9.4 percent in July, dipping slightly for the first time in 15 months and signaling that the recession may be easing, according to a Labor Department report released Friday.
Employers cut 247,000 nonfarm jobs in July, shedding jobs at the slowest pace in nearly a year. The Labor Department also said 43,000 fewer jobs were lost in May and June than was previously reported.
The unemployment report came as a surprise. Economists had predicted the unemployment rate would increase to 9.6 percent and job losses of around 320,000.
Right now, about 14.5 million people are out of work. The U.S. economy has lost 6.7 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007.
The report showed that employment in the manufacturing sector fell by 52,000 in July, with 2 million factory workers losing their jobs since the recession began. Retail employment declined by 44,000, and transportation and warehousing lost 22,000 jobs in July.
Government, health care and education were the bright spots of the report.
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