July jobs report: Unemployment increased to 8.3 percent

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today that private employers added 163,000 jobs in July and the unemplyment rate increased from 8.2 percent to 8.3 percent.

According to the bureau's household survey data, the number of unemployed people is 12.8 million. 

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, on his campaign website, called the increase in the unemployment rate "a hammer blow to struggling middle-class families."

President Barack Obama is expected to talk about the new jobs numbers today at a White House event on middle-class tax cuts.

The New York Times noted yesterday that July job numbers should be met with skepticism. "In the last 10 July jobs reports, dating back to 2002, the agency has added an average of 1.33 million jobs to its original estimate," Binyamin Appelbaum wrote. 

Here's a quick look by the BBC at America's unemployment situation.