What the July jobs report means for the health of the economy

July's jobs report is adding to optimism among economists that federal regulators can pull off a so-called soft landing, successfully bringing down inflation without tipping the economy into a recession.

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — July's jobs report is adding to optimism among economists that federal regulators can pull off a so-called soft landing, successfully bringing down inflation without tipping the economy into a recession.

The U.S. added 187,000 jobs to the economy in July, the latest federal report showed. Some economists had expected more than 200,000. Still, they say the steady growth is a positive sign for the health of the economy.

The July report also showed unemployment dipping to 3.5% and average hourly wages rising again by .4%.

"America's economy is strong," Vice President Kamala Harris said. "Bidenomics is working."

"It's just not working for working families," Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., rebutted.

He called the Biden administration's economic policies a disaster.

"It's costing families working families $10,000 more a year just to keep up," Schmitt said. "So wage growth has not kept up with inflation. That's what's hitting people every time they go to the grocery store."

White House economist Jered Bernstein told Republicans to check their facts.

"Inflation is down two-thirds off of its peak," Bernstein, who chairs the U.S. Council of Economic Advisers, said. "You've got a lot of Republicans walking around with stale talking points. They just haven't absorbed this data, perhaps because they don't want to."

Michael Gapen, head of U.S. economics at Bank of America, agreed the latest hobs numbers are a good sign for American families.

"Growth in the economy has held up. Demand for labor remains strong, but inflation is at least gradually ebbing lower," he said.

He said the July data is also good news for the Federal Reserve, which has been working to cool inflation.