­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Secretary of Labor Tom Perez issued the following statement about the July 2013 Employment Situation report released today:

"Today's report shows that our economy continues to improve, modestly but steadily. The unemployment rate inched downward to 7.4 percent, the 11^th straight month under 8 percent and the lowest level in more than four and a half years, since December 2008. The private sector added 161,000 new jobs in July, marking the 41^st straight month of private-sector job growth and a total of 7.3 million new private-sector jobs added over that time period. 

"This report is good news, and the economic turnaround over the past four years has been unmistakable. More Americans are finding work, but we can and must do more to pick up the pace of this recovery. So President Obama has offered specific proposals that will jumpstart job growth and foster a growing economy powered by a rising, thriving middle class. The president wants to rebuild our infrastructure, invest in manufacturing innovation, create incentives for clean energy and increase U.S. exports. He has also proposed strengthening our community colleges, linking them more directly to the business community, so that workers have the skills and training to succeed in new jobs.

"Congress should join the president in a 'common-sense caucus' so that government contributes to a growing economy. For too long, Congress has been single-mindedly focused on an austerity agenda that has kept us in an economic straitjacket. It's time for a grand bargain for middle-class jobs.

"My job as secretary of labor is to safeguard and expand opportunity for everyone willing to work for it. I look forward to working with the president and Congress in the coming months and years toward that goal."

Kathy Bostjancic, Director of Macroeconomic Analysis, The Conference Board:

With a gain of 162,000 jobs in July, the surprisingly resilient labor market sustained moderate job gains this spring and summer, even with the sequester (cut in federal government spending) and a weak global economy. The self-sustaining trend in employment growth is likely strong enough to allow the Federal Reserve to begin tapering its quantitative easing by the end of the year. The strong recovery in housing helps to offset some of the fiscal headwinds. As a consequence, manufacturing added a little to its payroll this month. The service sector continued to greatly expand its workforce. This was especially true with respect to business services and the leisure and hospitality industries. Business needs the extra help given the expectation of improved final domestic demand through the second half of 2013. Gains, not just in jobs but in wages as well, can make that happen. Short of a major shock (a major hurricane or a financial or fiscal crisis), the economy and the labor market are on course to improve over the next few months, and that is consistent with the trend in The Conference Board Leading Economic Index and the Consumer Confidence Survey.