US non-farm payroll employment grew strongly by 528k in July, well above expectation of 250k. That’s also much higher than the average gain of 388k over the prior 4 months. Total non-farm employment has also reached its pre-pandemic level.
Unemployment rate dropped from 3.6% to 3.5%, better than expectation of 3.6%. Participation rate dropped -0.1% to 62.1%.
Average hourly earnings rose 0.5% mom in July, above expectation of 0.3% mom.
