U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis gave the July job numbers: "The economy gained 71,000 jobs in the private sector. Overall, employment declined by 131,000, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 9.5 percent. This year we've seen the creation of 630,000 private sector jobs - steady growth averaging 90,000 new private sector jobs each month, which tracks closely with what the Council of Economic Advisors had predicted earlier this year." Still, the gain of 71,000 jobs was less than what economists predicted; one told Bloomberg News, "To the extent that we have a labor market recovery, it’s a slow one. I don’t see anything to indicate that the third quarter will be better."