The July jobs report is out, and it has smashed expectations. On Friday morning, the Labor Department reported that the U.S. economy added 255,000 jobs, while the unemployment rate remained at 4.9 percent. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal were expecting a modest 179,000 jobs added.
After a fantastic jobs report in June, fears that U.S. job growth is slowing down were largely quelled. But the July jobs report will reinforce beliefs that the hugely disappointing May jobs report was a blip, and that the long-term trend shows the U.S. economy to be on a trajectory of robust growth.
Employment gains were seen in the business-services, health-care, and financial sectors, while the mining industry continues to lose jobs. Since September 2014, the sector has lost 220,000 jobs, or 26 percent of its jobs.
The Department of Labor’s jobs reports come with revisions to previous months’ reports, and this month’s revisions have good news too: Both May and June’s numbers were revised up—from 11,000 to 24,000 and from 287,000 to 292,000 respectively—solidifying June’s position as one of 2016’s best jobs reports. This month’s revisions bring the three-month average to 190,000 jobs added per month.