US Adds 943,000 Jobs in July, Signaling Economy is Rebounding

By Teddy Grant Published: August 6, 2021

US Adds 943,000 Jobs in July, Signaling Economy is Rebounding

A hiring sign shows outside of restaurant in Prospect Heights, Ill., Sunday, March 21, 2021. The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell sharply last week to 684,000, the fewest since the pandemic erupted a year ago and a sign the economy is improving. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

By: Teddy Grant

The U.S. added 943,000 jobs in July while the unemployment rate sits at 5.4%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday.

The strong showing is the biggest monthly gain since August 2020, according to NBC News. Analysts had estimated the U.S. would add 850,000 jobs.

June’s numbers were also revised up, with the economy adding 938,000 positions, CNN reported. The U.S. added 16.7 million jobs since May 2020.

Despite the gains, the country is still lagging in job creation because of the pandemic. There were 5.7 million more jobs before COVID-19 facilitated a slowdown in job growth.

“It could be telling us people are still not returning to the labor force in the sort of numbers we’re expecting, particularly in cases where the Delta variant is surging,” James McCann, deputy chief economist at Aberdeen Standard Investments, told NBC News.

The pandemic also forced 1.7 million Americans into early retirement, with Black workers without a college degree mostly being impacted, according to a study from the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis.

The job report for August will most likely show a clearer picture of how the Delta variant is impacting job growth.