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The July jobs report was better than expected, but still not good enough.
U.S. employers added 163,000 jobs in July, according to the Labor Department. That's more than twice than number of jobs added in June and the best hiring numbers since February. Still, the unemployment rate rose slightly to 8.3 percent.
The improvements seen in July are modest when compared to the average of 225,000 jobs that were added each month during the first quarter of the year.
But if investors view this report as a hopeful sign of recovery, mortgage rates might rise a little this week. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note and mortgage bonds rose slightly this morning after the report was released. When yields go up, rates tend to follow.
Borrowers who have not locked a rate yet have no reason to panic. Yes, mortgage rates bounced up from their lows this week, but they remain incredibly low. There's still plenty of bad news to keep a lid on rates. And remember: Europe is on your side. The European Central Bank disappointed investors again this week after vague promises to solve the euro crisis.
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160,000 thousand jobs gained, 150,000 jobs LOST. Net gain of 10,000 means 8.254% unemployment rate, not 8.3%! I understand mortgage interest rates will fall as unemployment gets worse... I want Obama re-elected because then we'll also see $8,000/oz gold! C'mon Obama, you can do it!