WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. employers offered much more jobs than expected in July as the unemployment rate fell to pre-pandemic levels of 3.5 percent, providing the strongest indication yet that the economy is not entering a recession . In its closely watched employment report on Friday, the Labor Department said non-farm payrolls rose by 528,000 last month. The data for the month of June was revised upwards to show that 398 thousand jobs were added instead of 372,000 as previously reported. This is the nineteenth consecutive month that the payroll has increased. The unemployment rate was 3.6 percent in June. Economists polled by Reuters had expected jobs to rise by 250,000 jobs. Estimates ranged from 75,000 to 325,000. The unemployment rate was unchanged and remained at 3.6 percent. The employment report painted a picture of a fairly buoyant economy despite successive contraction in quarters of GDP. The demand for labor has fallen in sectors sensitive to interest rate changes such as housing and retail, but airlines and restaurants are not finding enough workers.
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