U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose by a seasonally adjusted 943,000 in July, from June’s upwardly revised gain of 938,000, the Labor Department said Friday. The July jobs increase was the largest since August 2020.

The unemployment rate, derived from a separate survey of households, fell to 5.4% in July from 5.9% in June. The number of Americans working or seeking work last month rose, as did average hourly wages.

Wall Street Journal