Hiring in July came in much better than expected, dispelling speculation that the economic recovery is weakening.
Total NFP payrolls rose 528,000 for the month and the unemployment rate was 3.5%, handily beating the Dow Jones estimates of 258,000 and 3.6% respectively. This data was released by the Department of Statistics on Friday.
Wage growth also jumped higher, as average hourly earnings jumped 0.5% for the month and 5.2% from the same time last year. The figures added more pressure to the price surge where inflation readings have increased at the fastest rate since the early 1980s.
Markets initially reacted negatively to the report, with Dow Jones futures down nearly 200 points.
The tourism and hospitality sector led the way in job gains with an increase of 96,000 jobs, followed by professional and business services with an increase of 89,000. Health care added 70,000 and the government sector added 57,000 jobs. The goods production industry also recorded strong gains, with jobs in the construction sector increasing by 32,000 and the manufacturing sector adding 30,000.
Despite missing expectations, July's increase was the best since February and well ahead of the 388,000 average job gains over the past four months. A report released by the BLS states that total non-farm payrolls have increased by 22 million since the April 2020 low when most of the U.S. economy. closed to deal with the Covid pandemic.
The bureau noted that private payrolls are now higher than February 2020 levels, just before the pandemic was declared, although government jobs still lag.
The US dollar index, which measures the US dollar against six major currencies, traded up 0.95% to trade at 106.575.
