U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker today released the following statement on the July jobs report, which showed that U.S. employment rose by 255,000 while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.9%. 

“Today’s jobs report underscores the steadiness and breadth of our economic expansion. With 255,000 jobs added in July, we marked our record 70th straight month of job growth. U.S. businesses have now added 15 million jobs since early 2010, the unemployment rate remains low at 4.9 percent, and growth in hourly earnings has increased 2.6 percent in the past year.

“However, we have more to do to ensure that this progress continues and that the benefits of growth are broadly shared. This includes making critical investments in our infrastructure and our workforce, implementing high-standards trade agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and raising the minimum wage.”