Non-farm jobs rose by 528,000 in July

U.S. non-form employers added 528,000 new job during the month of July. Surprisingly, the addition in job numbers was much higher than the expected gain. In addition, the unemployment rate across the United States remained 3.5% which is lowest since the advent of pandemic in 2020.

According to U.S. Labor Bureau of Statistics, the July jobs rose by 130,000 as compared to job gains in June. Furthermore, the economists are considering it a positive sign amid growing concerns of economic recession in United States. The U.S. economy went down during the first two quarters of 2022. However, a majority of economists believe that the strong jobs numbers are keeping the economy from slipping in to a free fall. The Labor Department also revised the job gain figures for May and July and they rose by a total of 28,000. Therefore, the recent jobs data may initiate a debate whether the economy in going towards a recession or not.

Reduced unemployment & higher average earnings

The unemployment rate was 3.5% which was one point lower than June’s unemployment rate. Moreover, the unemployment is back to pre-pandemic levels and is lowest since 1969. Similarly, average hourly wage growth also surges higher and jumped by 0.5% for July. Furthermore, the average hourly earnings rose by 5.2% from the same time a year ago. Increasing inflation is also one of the main reasons for this significant hike in average earnings. Although, The Dow Jones estimate was for a 0.3% monthly gain and 4.9% annual increase in average hourly wages.

Leisure & hospitality led the way

There are some sectors which demonstrated exceptional gain in job numbers. Leisure & hospitality sector went through immense job losses when the pandemic struck in 2020. But, the sector led the way in job gains and managed to add 96,000 new jobs during July which shows signs of recovery. However, leisure & hospitality sector is lagging by 1.2 million workers of its pre-pandemic numbers. Moreover, Professional and business services was second in line and added 89,000 new jobs. Health care added 70,000 and government payrolls grew by 57,000 jobs. Similarly, construction is up by 32,000 and manufacturing added 30,000 jobs. Surprisingly, retail sector managed to 22,000 jobs despite alerts of decline by industry giants like Walmart and target etc.

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