Jobless rate dips to 9.4% as 247,000 nonfarm payrolls lost

The unemployment rate, meanwhile, unexpectedly fell to 9.4% as nearly a half a million people dropped out of the labor market, the Labor Department reported.

U.S. nonfarm payrolls declined by 247,000 to 131.5 million in July, the 19th consecutive month of job losses, about in line with economists' estimates of a 275,000 decline. See Economic Calendar.