August 05, 2006	Saturday	Rajab 9, 1427

WASHINGTON, Aug 4: US job creation was tepid in July, according to a closely watched government report Friday that could give the Federal Reserve an excuse to suspend rate hikes next week.

The Labour Department’s “non-farm payrolls” report showed that US employers added just 113,000 new jobs in July, while the jobless rate ticked up to 4.8 per cent from 4.6 per cent in June.

It was the first increase in the jobless rate since November. The pace of employment creation was much less than the revised June figure of 124,000 or Wall Street’s target for 145,000 new positions in

July.—AFP