The U.S. economy added a robust 528,000 jobs in July, recouping the number of payrolls lost in the wake of the pandemic.
The unemployment rate also dropped to 3.5%, a half-century low also seen just before the pandemic in early 2020, the Labor Department said Friday. The acceleration follows a first half of the year during which payrolls grew faster than during any other post-World War II period when the economy began contracting.