Gallup News Service (08/01/12) Lydia Saad

Gallup’s U.S. Job Creation Index declined to +17 in July, after registering at or near +20 from April through June. On average in July, 34% of all full- and part-time workers said their employers are hiring and expanding the size of their work forces, and 17% said their employers are letting workers go and reducing the size of their work forces, resulting in the +17 net hiring figure. The hiring component of the index fell slightly to 34% in July, from 36% in June, while the firing component moved to 17%, from 16%.

Net hiring in July remains strongest in the Midwest, now at +21, and weakest in the West, now +13, in line with the pattern seen for most of the past year. July hiring held fairly steady in the East and West, but softened in the South and, to a lesser degree, in the Midwest.