US hiring slows in July but jobless rate falls to four years low

WASHINGTON: US employers slowed their pace of hiring in July but the jobless rate fell anyway, a pair of mixed signals that could make the US Federal Reserve more cautious about drawing down its huge economic stimulus program.

The number of jobs outside the farming sector increased by 162,000 last month, the smallest gain in four months and below analysts' expectations, Labor Department data showed on Friday.

The lackluster reading reinforced the view that the job market is only inching toward recovery from the 2007-09 recession and weighed on financial markets.

"We're sort of grinding along here," said Gordon Charlop, managing director at Rosenblatt Securities in New York.

At the same time, gains in employment were enough to push the jobless rate down to 7.4 percent, its lowest level since December 2008.