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    August 10, 2021

    U.S. Job Creation: Hiring Accelerates in July

    Written by David Schollaert

    The U.S. economy continued to accelerate in July, as hiring rose at its fastest pace in nearly a year. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 943,000 for the month, while the unemployment rate dropped to 5.4%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The payroll increase was the best since August 2020.

    Following sizable jumps in employment in May and June, July’s showing reinforced the case that the recovery is proceeding, helped by healthy consumer spending, trillions of dollars in government support and a pickup in business investment. Upward revisions to May and June figures show that more than 2.5 million jobs have been added in the last three months, putting the economy three-quarters of the way toward restoring the 22.4 million positions wiped out at the pandemic’s start last year.

    David Schollaert

    David Schollaert is deputy editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. David joined SMU after more than a decade in the metals and mining industry in a myriad of different roles. Much of his early experience and expertise were within the coverage and analysis of steel-making raw materials and served previously as senior editor of the CRU Prices Service. Most recently, however, before his return to market analysis, David held roles as a metals buyer and an operations manager for raw material suppliers. He can be contacted at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.

    Read more from David Schollaert

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