Five takeaways from July's jobs report

1/9

The number of biomedical engineers is projected to grow nearly 68% from 4,000 in 2010 to 6,700 in 2020, according to the California Employment Development Department. The median annual wage for this career is $81,540, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics figures. (John Amis / Associated Press)

2/9

Home health aides provide individualized healthcare to elderly, convalescent or people with disabilities at the patient’s home or in a care facility. The number of aides is projected to grow 52% to 93,100 in 2020, according to the state Employment Development Department. The mean annual wage for these jobs is $21,830, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Joe Raedle/ Getty Images)

3/9

The number of carpenter helpers is projected to swell nearly 52% to 4,700 in 2020, according to state employment projections. The mean annual wage for these workers, who assist carpenters, is $27,230, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

4/9

Market research analysts study market conditions and help examine potential sales of a product or service. The number of these types of analysts is projected to grow 45.8% to 78,300, according to state estimates. The median annual wage of marketing specialists was $60,570, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Ulrich Baumgarten/Getty Images)

5/9

Masons use bricks, concrete blocks and stones to build fences, walkways and other structures. The number of mason helpers is expected to grow 45.7% by 2020, swelling to 5,100, according to state projects. The median annual wage of brickmasons was $46,930, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

6/9

Personal care aides are similar to home health aids, which landed at No. 2 on this list. Personal care aides, however, also make beds, prepare meals and perform other duties at a patient’s home or residential nursing facility. The number of jobs in this field is projected to grow to 462,900 by 2020, a 43% growth rate from 2010. The mean annual wage is about $20,830, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

7/9

The number of emergency medical technicians and paramedics is projected to grow to 22,600, a 42% increase, according to state estimates. The median annual wage of EMTs and paramedics was $30,360 in 2010, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

8/9

The number of museum curators is expected to grow 40% to 1,400 in 2020, according to the state’s Employment Development Department. The median annual wage of curators is $48,450, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

9/9

The number of marriage and family therapists is projected to grow to 14,900 by 2020, according to state projects. That’s a growth rate of 39%. The mean annual salary for these types of therapists is $49,270, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

By Ricardo Lopez

Aug. 2, 2013 8:55 AM PT

The U.S. economy added 162,000 jobs in July -- led by hiring in restaurants and retail stores.

Economists had been projecting higher growth based on encouraging economic indicators showing that housing is rebounding quickly, consumer confidence is ticking up and initial jobless claims have fallen.

Friday’s jobs report released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics wasn’t pretty, particularly since previous months’ job gains were also revised downward. Here are five takeaways from the report:

1. The unemployment rate fell to 7.4% in July from 7.6% the month before. Most people would interpret a falling jobless rate as a good thing, but part of the decline in this case is due to people dropping out of the labor force.

PHOTOS: Who works the longest? Jobs with the longest and shortest workdays

From June to July, 37,000 people stopped looking for work, according to the federal agency. This partly contributed to the decline in the unemployment rate as the Labor Department doesn’t count those currently not looking for work as unemployed.

2. The number of involuntary part-time workers rose in July. These workers are those unable to find full-time work due to slack economic conditions or who have had their hours cut by their employer. The number grew by 19,000 to 8.2 million in July.

Economists have warned that the rise in part-time workers could prove harmful to future economic growth. Though employed, part-time workers’ spending power is diminished, weakening the consumer spending that is crucial to economic growth.

3. The jobs report also said that the average workweek fell by one-tenth of an hour last month to 34.4 hours, and average hourly earnings also declined to $23.98, a two-cent drop.

4. Nearly 85,000 jobs were added in the low-wage sectors of retail trade and food services and drinking establishments. That’s slightly more than half of July’s net job gains.

The retail trade sector saw strong growth in general merchandise stores and auto dealerships, a sign of stronger consumer spending. Restaurants and bars have briskly added workers as more consumers eat out again, economists said.

5. July’s jobs report is likely to prompt speculation on how the Federal Reserve will interpret the data.

The weakening pace of job growth muddles the outlook for the widely expected tapering of the Federal Reserve’s stimulus in September. Prior to this report, job growth was averaging about 200,000 a month this year, a solid if not spectacular pace.

But with the latest month’s report and the earlier revisions showing job growth having slowed, the Fed may be more reluctant to reduce its bond-buying stimulus at its next policy meeting.

ALSO:

Pace of job growth weakens in July

FDA defines ‘gluten free’ for food labeling with new guideline

U.S. judge dismisses suit against Dodd-Frank financial reform law

ricardo.lopez@latimes.com

Times staff writer Don Lee contributed to this report.