The number of jobs lost in July fell to its lowest level since the recession began in December 2007, raising hope the US economy has begun to stabilize, the US government reported Friday. Employers cut 247,000 jobs in July - down from 467,000 in June - dipping the unemployment rate to 9.4 per cent, the US Department of Labour said. The unemployment rate was at 9.5 per cent at the end of June. The number of individuals estimated to be unemployed dropped from 14.7 million in June to 14.5 million last month. President Barack Obama made a brief appearance at the White House to say the drop indicates his economic stimulus plan is working and that "the worst may be behind us." "We are pointed in the right direction," he added. "We are losing jobs at less than half the rate when I took office." Since the recession took hold, the number of jobless has grown by 6.7 million in the United States, the worst 19-month stretch since 1939. The number of long-term unemployed - those out of work for 27 weeks or longer - rose by 584,000 to 5 million, or one-third of those registered jobless. But July's figures were better than analysts expected, and well below the pace of 700,000 jobs lost on the monthly basis at the beginning of the year. The hardest hit employment sectors continued to be in construction, manufacturing and retail, with combined jobs losses of 172,000, the Labour Department said.
