WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. added 528,000 jobs in July. As a result, the labor market in the world’s largest economy grew much faster than in the previous month. The strong job growth came as a surprise, as experts had expected a less sharp increase due to higher inflation and interest rate hikes.

Economists polled by Bloomberg News expect an average of 250,000 new jobs in July. In June, 398,000 new jobs were added. It’s a sign that employers are still interested in employees.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate is now 3.5 percent. That means unemployment has fallen again in February 2020, the month before the Corona crisis was felt in the US. The number of workers has also returned to pre-corona levels, the government agency said

Employment growth

Employment increased in all sectors. Restaurants, bars and nightlife in particular employed a lot of new people. Business service providers such as engineering and consulting firms also needed many new people.

Statistics indicate that a broader economic downturn is not yet in sight. It was recently reported that US gross domestic product (GDP) contracted for the second quarter in a row. But economists don’t want to call it a recession yet, because that would require a broader economic downturn that would also affect the labor market.

The Federal Reserve will be supported in its interest rate policy by a sharp increase in the number of jobs. The US umbrella organization of central banks has been raising interest rates rapidly to control skyrocketing inflation. It doesn’t seem to be damaging the labor market yet. At the same time, average hourly wages for U.S. workers continue to rise, contributing to rising prices.