U.S. employers likely added 175,000 jobs in July as labor market cools gradually

The U.S. job market isn’t sizzling hot anymore. Companies aren’t hiring the way they were a year or two ago. But they aren’t slashing jobs either. This is just what the inflation fighters at the Federal Reserve want to see: a gradual slowdown in hiring that eases pressure on companies to raise wages – but avoids the pain of widespread layoffs. The Labor Department is expected to report Friday that employers added 175,000 jobs last month, decent but down from 206,000 in June. Unemployment is forecast to stay at a low 4.1%, according to a survey of economists by the data firm FactSet.