The Labor Department released monthly unemployment numbers this morning, and there seem to be some good signs for the economy. The headline: nonfarm payrolls declined by 247,000 in July. That's the smallest drop in 11 months. Unemployment held steady at 9.4%. Not a pretty number, but at least for the moment, the leveling off shown below is welcome for the economy: This does not mean an end to the threat of 10% or greater unemployment, as the Wall Street Journal 's Brian Blackstone writes: Despite the surprising dip in the unemployment rate, a double-digit rate is still possible in the next few months. Not only does the economy have to stop contracting to add jobs, it needs to grow around 2.5% consistently just to keep up with new entrants into the labor force. Even if the economy does expand in the 3% range this quarter, as some economists expect, few expect that type of growth to be sustained given the headwinds consumers still face from stagnant incomes and lost housing wealth. Looking inside the numbers, there are some negative figures that continue to haunt. The number of marginally attached workers is now at 2.3 million, and the number of long-term unemployed--out of work for 27 weeks or more--is now at 5.0 million. But there is are some details that could represent more positive news to come. Average hourly earnings are up 3 pennies--to $18.56. And the average workweek grew 0.1 hour. A tiny figure, to be sure, but it is the first rise in that statistic since last August. If employers are increasing hours, that could be a sign that they are more confident moving forward. Read the Bureau of Labor Statistics release on the job numbers here .