The U.S. economy added 162,000 jobs in July, fewer than expected, and with the bulk of the gains in areas like retail and restaurants that typically are low-paying. The unemployment rate slipped to 7.4 percent, the lowest since December 2008. Pick ups in employment fueled some of that drop, but the labor force also shrank during the month, contributing to the lower unemployment rate. The government revised previous months' jobs creation numbers lower and said long-term unemployment rose, with 33.6 week now the average duration of joblessness, NBC News reported.
