Employment continues to be a mixed bag across the nation, as recent numbers show payrolls climbed in 31 states in July, while the jobless rate increased in 28.
According to a report from the U.S. Department of Labor, states such as New York and Texas boosted payroll figures by nearly 30,000 workers each, Bloomberg reports. Yet, many states including Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and South Carolina saw unemployment increase by 0.4 percent each.
"The overall labor market was doing better than previous months, but the bigger point is that it's a lot weaker than earlier in the year," Paul Dales, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics, told Bloomberg before the report.
However, he added that the report doesn't reflect recent market fluctuations, including the U.S. credit downgrade by ratings firm Standard & Poor's, which could cause companies' human resources administration to delay or cancel hiring plans, the source noted.
In July, the national unemployment rate fell to 9.1 percent, from 9.2 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.
