U.S. hiring held steady in early July

PRINCETON, N.J., July 10 (UPI) -- U.S. hiring activity in the first week of July matched hiring in the month of June, but the index has dropped since the first of the year, researchers said.

A Gallup Poll indicates net new hiring activity, based on nearly 2,000 interviews with employees in the first week of July, remained steady at 20.4 from May to June. Between Jan. 1 and June 30, however, the index dropped 5.7 points, while the U.S. unemployment rate rose from 4.9 percent to 5.5 percent.

"The lack of improvement in net hiring activity in early July suggests that current job-market conditions have not improved," Gallup said.

Gallup initiated the new hiring activity survey in January. It calculates the index by subtracting the "letting go and reducing" percentage from "hiring and expanding" percentage, the report said.

In the first week of July, 36.9 percent of the employees surveyed indicated their companies were expanding, while 16.5 percent indicated their companies were eliminating jobs, Gallup said.

"These percentages are essentially the same as those for May and June but are down substantially from January," the report said.