US economy creates 209,000 jobs in July

"With the positive numbers in the report, we need to remember the Americans who continue to struggle against the tides of automation and globalisation," said Mark Hamrick, Bankrate.com's senior economic analyst.

For now, wage growth is steady enough that it should keep plans on track for the Federal Reserve to take action to raise interest rates, said Luke Bartholomew, a strategist at Aberdeen Asset Management.

"While far from spectacular, especially given the further fall in unemployment, today's wage numbers are just about enough for now," he wrote.