WASHINGTON, D.C. — Total U.S. nonfarm payroll employment rose by 528,000 in July, while the employment rate ticked down to 3.5 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Employment gains more than doubled the prediction of Dow Jones economists, who forecast the U.S. economy would add 258,000 jobs and the unemployment rate would remain unchanged at 3.6 percent for the fifth consecutive month, according to CNBC.
July represents the highest monthly employment total since February, which totaled 714,000 jobs. July job gains were led by leisure and hospitality (96,000), an employment sector that remains 1.2 million jobs below pre-pandemic levels in February 2020 (a 7.1 percent loss). Other sectors that saw notable additions last month include professional and business services (89,000), healthcare (70,000), government (57,000), construction (32,000) and manufacturing (30,000).
Additionally, the BLS revised job gains in May and June by a combined +28,000 jobs. The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for May was revised up by 2,000 (from 384,000 to 386,000), and the change for June was revised up by 26,000 (from 372,000 to 398,000).