The United States added an estimated 528,000 jobs to the economy in the month of July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The unemployment rate also ticked down to 3.5% from 3.6%. The report smashed some economists’ estimation of 258,000 jobs added and the U.S. economy has now added back all jobs lost due to the effect of COVID-19 measures.
The robust jobs report will likely give leeway for the Federal Reserve to introduce more interest rate hikes in September for the third straight time to help curb inflation.
While more than half a million jobs were added to the economy, the data indicates that wages are not keeping pace with rising inflation. According to the BLS, average hourly earnings jumped 0.5% in July. In June, the American economy experienced a record high inflation of 9.1% as consumer prices skyrocketed across the economy.
In reaction to the news, former Trump adviser Steve Cortes tweeted, “Good Jobs headline number. Not real job creation – just finally back to pre shutdown levels.”
“But…by far the most important reality for Americans – esp middle and lower income citizens – is that Real Wages continue to crash, adjusted for the Inflation these ‘experts’ created…,” he added.
Good Jobs headline number. Not real job creation – just finally back to pre shutdown levels.
But…by far the most important reality for Americans – esp middle and lower income citizens – is that Real Wages continue to crash, adjusted for the Inflation these “experts” created… pic.twitter.com/3SoyHTDAXZ
— Steve Cortes (@CortesSteve) August 5, 2022
The labor force participation stayed around 62.1%, an economic sign that some economists say is evidence that the economy is not as strong as the leading job figure may indicate.
“The gain of 528K #jobs in July as the labor force participation rate fell to 62.1, means that most of the new jobs went to people who already had jobs,” Peter Schiff wrote. “Collapsing real wages force many workers to moonlight to pay the bills. If the labor market were strong one job would be enough.”
The gain of 528K #jobs in July as the labor force participation rate fell to 62.1, means that most of the new jobs went to people who already had jobs. Collapsing real wages force many workers to moonlight to pay the bills. If the labor market were strong one job would be enough.
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) August 5, 2022
Heritage Foundation expert E.J. Antoni also told The Daily Caller that the data is not as strong as it seems.
“Despite a blockbuster headline number, the labor market data continues to be a mixed bag,” he explained. “The labor force participation rate fell yet again in July, artificially pushing the unemployment number down.”
The numbers also crushed the White House’s own predictions.
On Thursday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claimed that the economy was in a “transition” and “instead of that record-high breaking job numbers, that we’ve been seeing every month, in the realm of 500,00 – 600,000 jobs on average per month we’re expecting it to be closer to 150,000 jobs per month.”
“That would be a sign of a success of this transition” she added, noting that a smaller jobs report would be a sign of a “healthy economy.”
Karine Jean-Pierre on coming jobs report:
"Instead of that record-high breaking job numbers…we're expecting to be closer to 150,000 jobs per month… We see that…as a healthy economy." pic.twitter.com/RcOlPuHNAG
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 4, 2022
This is a developing story; please check back for updates.