July's employment numbers released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed that the nation's employers have picked up their hiring pace, as payrolls expanded by 207,000 jobs. This was significantly better than both May and June's numbers and bumped the average monthly growth rate for jobs to 191,000 in 2005. There remain many problems with the economy and job market as we continue to slowly move through this economic recovery. First, almost all of the new jobs created in July were in the service industries (generally lower paying jobs with worse benefits) as the employment picture is still very bleak in the manufacturing and good producing sectors (generally higher paying jobs with better benefits). The lack of a rebound in the manufacturing sector continues to be a large problem, particularly for Americans who have been unable to find sufficient employment to replace wages lost when they were laid off their manufacturing job. Second, and perhaps more importantly, job creation is still lagging significantly behind population growth. If job creation and population growth continue along at their current pace, the employment outlook will continue to worsen with each passing month. Read More...

• July Employment Summary from the BLS
• Statement from the Center for American Progress
• July Jobs Picture Analysis by the Economic Policy Institute