Over 500,000 Jobs Added in July, the Highest Total in Five Months

Gains are seen in both the private and government sectors as the pre-pandemic peak of 152.5 million jobs is finally matched.

Over 300,00 of the jobs added were part time, which tends to fluctuate.
For the first time since the start of the pandemic, all economic sectors showed positive employment growth, led by Professional & Business Services which added with 89,000 jobs.
Other sectors with significant additions include Hospitality (+74,000), Health Care (+70,000) and Government (+57,000).
32,000 positions were added in Construction, bringing its total to 7.71 million, very close to the 7.73 million peak from April 2006.
Despite July’s job growth, many economic sectors have yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels, led by Mining (7.5% below peak), Hospitality (off by 7.2%) and Entertainment (down by 6.7%).
Sectors which have surpassed the pre-pandemic peak include Transportation & Warehousing (+12%), Residential Buildings (+7.5%) and Professional & Business Services (+ 4.6%).
The percent of working-age population currently in the labor force is 62.1 percent, a full point below pre-pandemic levels.
The unemployment rate fell another tenth to 3.5 percent, matching February 2020 levels.