U.S. Payroll Gain Was Likely Too Small to Cut Unemployment

American employers probably failed to create enough jobs in July to reduce the jobless rate, showing anxiety over government debt deliberations and a slowdown in consumer spending have shaken confidence, economists said before a report today.

Payrolls climbed by 85,000 workers after an 18,000 increase in June that was the smallest this year, according to the median forecast of 88 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News before a Labor Department report. The jobless rate held at 9.2 percent after rising in each of the previous three months.