US hiring growth stays steady in month of July.

The US economy added 187,000 jobs in July, below economist estimates of 200,000 and slightly above the downwardly revised 185,000 jobs in June, according to government data released yesterday. The unemployment rate dropped to 3.5%, from 3.6% in June and 3.7% in May. Average hourly earnings grew 0.4% month-over-month and 4.4% year-over-year, matching June.