Payrolls surge as US hiring rises again for second month

Washington

PAYROLLS jumped in July for a second month and wages climbed, pointing to renewed vigour in the US labour market that will sustain consumer spending into the second half of the year.

Payrolls climbed by 255,000 last month, exceeding all forecasts in a Bloomberg survey of 89 economists; payrolls in June had made a 292,000 gain, a bit larger than previously estimated, a Labor Department report showed on Friday. The jobless rate held at 4.9 per cent as many of the people streaming into the labour force found jobs.