July’s jobs report shows another strong month of job and wage growth

The U.S. economy added 187,000 jobs in July, strikingly similar to the revised number of 185,000 jobs added in June. The growth shows a bit of stability in the job market, making a recession seem less likely.

Wages continued to grow in July, with payrolls increasing $.14 month over month and average earnings up 4.4% over the past 12 months.

The unemployment rate dropped slightly to 3.5%, and the number of people looking for work remained at 5.2 million.

Jobs were added in sectors across the economy, with the largest increase in the Healthcare industry, with 63,000 jobs added in July.

On Snagajob, job postings are up 12% month over month. Notable gains were seen in the Education (+40%), Healthcare (+15%), and Hotel and Hospitality (+8%) industries.

Here’s your roundup of key insights from the report:

• Washington Post: “Fed policy makers are keeping a close eye on wage growth, because they worry that fast-rising wages will tamper with their ability to bring down inflation, which was 3 percent last month.”

• Wall Street Journal: “Economists have recently dialed back their recession expectations after many had projected a downturn, along with job losses, would start in the middle of the year in response to Fed policy.”

• New York Times: “The report shows that most people who want to work can find jobs, keeping upward pressure on wages.”

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Hourly Jobs

All industry data is from 3/2/20-7/31/2023

Here are the latest overall job numbers:

Overall hourly jobs are up 76% from February 2020's pre-pandemic numbers, and they are up 12% month over month.

Here are the latest job numbers by industry and category:

Food & Restaurant jobs are down 18% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing a 7% month-over-month decline, and a 32% year-over-year decline.

Hotel & Hospitality jobs are down 53% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing a 8% month-over-month increase, and a 57% year-over-year decline.

Healthcare jobs are up 363% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing a 15% month-over-month increase, and a 67% year-over-year growth.

Retail jobs are down 39% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing a 1% month-over-month drop, and a 58% year-over-year decline.

Warehouse & Logistics jobs are up 140% compared to pre-pandemic norms, seeing a 24% month-over-month decline, and with a 81% year-over-year decline.