117,000 Jobs Added In July Ease Fears Of Recession

By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Hiring picked up slightly in July, and the unemployment rate dipped to 9.1 percent. The modest improvement could ease fears of another recession, but it wasn't enough to prevent another wild day of trading on Wall Street.

Employers added 117,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said Friday. The figure was the best in three months. And the job totals for May and June were revised up.