The first half of 2014 saw the U.S. economy’s strongest stretch of hiring since early 2006. The jobless rate fell to 6.1% in June from 7.5% a year earlier, its fastest one-year decline since October 1984, and nonfarm employers added a seasonally adjusted 288,000 jobs. Can hiring keep up its strong pace in the second half of the year? We’ll get our first clue Friday at 8:30 a.m. EDT, when the Labor Department releases its jobs report for July. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect payrolls to rise by 230,000 and the unemployment rate to remain at 6.1%. Here are a few things to watch: Where’s The ... (full story)