The U.S. economy added 222,000 new jobs in June and the unemployment rate held at 4.4 percent, according to a government report Friday.
Economists surveyed by Reuters had been expecting nonfarm payrolls growth of 179,000 and the unemployment rate to tick down one-tenth to 4.3 percent.
Investors watched the report both for headline numbers and for indications on whether worker salaries were increasing. Despite the plunge in the unemployment rate during the recovery, there have been only scant signs of wage pressures.
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