U.S. employers added 163,000 jobs in July, a hopeful sign after three months of sluggish hiring.
The Labor Department says the unemployment rate rose to 8.3% from 8.2% in June.
July's hiring was the best since February. Still, the economy has added an average of 151,000 jobs a month this year, roughly the same as last year's pace. That's not enough to satisfy the 12.8 million Americans who are unemployed.
The rate increased because the government uses two surveys: A survey of businesses showed job gains, but a survey of households showed fewer people had jobs. Economists say the business survey is more reliable.
High unemployment could hurt President Barack Obama's re-election hopes. No president since World War II has faced re-election with unemployment over 8%.
President Obama says new jobs figures released Friday show there are too many people looking for work. He says "we've got more work to do on their behalf."
The president is urging Congress to pass a tax cut extension for families making less than $250,000 a year. He says the "last thing" the nation should do is push higher taxes on middle-class families.
Obama says the economy is not improving fast enough for many workers. But he noted that the private sector has created 4.5 million new jobs in the past 29 months.
And - Mitt Romney says the latest unemployment uptick is "another hammer blow to the struggling middle-class families of America."
Romney says that is "not just statistics" and that real people are struggling under President Obama.
Romney is campaigning in Nevada Friday and blames Democrats' health care law and burdensome regulations for the sluggish economy. Romney is promoting his economic plan that he says would create 12 million new jobs over the next four years. (AP)
