July jobs report a strong sign for U.S economy

The U.S. economy continues to show signs of recovery by beating analyst expectations to the largest jobs number since last August. The strong reading meant that 75% of the jobs lost to the pandemic had now been recovered, trimming the unemployment rate to 5.4 per cent. Gains were shared across most sectors but leisure, education and services were the standouts with a notable rise in restaurant hires signalling the reopening is, so far, shaking off delta variant concerns. Wages also continued their steady rise on the back of recent labour shortages and record vacancies. The overriding narrative remains whether the positive data will force the Federal Reserve to slowly cull its stimulus, with investors paying even closer attention ahead of the Jackson Hole policy symposium at the end of August. However, potential concerns were not reflected in markets as the S&P 500 shot to a record high in early trading.