The U.S. Department of Labor announced Friday that U.S. employers added 215,000 jobs in July, while data released by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the oldest executive outplacement firm in the U.S., indicated that more than 100,000 people were laid off in July - the highest month in four years. The layoffs were mainly due to the U.S. Army's dismissals of military and civilian officers, as the U.S. Department of Defense is the largest employer in the world with 3.2 million employees.

The Department of Labor also said the unemployment rate held at a relatively low 5.3 percent for a second straight month. The numbers were evaluated as signaling a steadily rising job market and likely nudging the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) closer to raising interest rates in September. The Fed is expected to increase interest rates in September, which is going to be the first hike in the last 10 years. The decision will depend on the recovery in unemployment and the inflation outlook.

The Fed has held its key short-term rate near zero since late 2008, a policy introduced after the financial crisis to try to energize the economy through stronger borrowing, investing and spending. Now, more than a half dozen years into the recovery, Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen has suggested that the economy not only can tolerate but also needs higher rates.