The U.S. labor market continued its long march back from the recession with steady job gains in July, keeping Federal Reserve officials on track for their first interest-rate increase since 2006.

Americans boosted their spending on everything from cars to clothing in July, suggesting the U.S. economy remains on solid footing despite turbulence around the globe.

U.S. worker productivity is advancing at one of its worst rates on record, frustrating prospects for a sustained economic acceleration more than six years into the expansion. After surging in the early days of the economic recovery, worker productivity has slowed to a pace last consistently recorded in the early 1980s. As a result, businesses need to add employees to meet demand rather than extract more from their existing workforce.

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