The U.S. labor market continues to be very strong.

According to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data released Friday, U.S. employers added a whopping 528,000 jobs in July, much stronger than the 250,000 gain economists expected.

There are now 152.536 million people employed, according to the payroll data, which puts that number above the pre-pandemic high of 152.504 million (February 2020).

The unemployment rate fell to 3.5% from 3.6% in June. This marks the lowest rate since February 2020.

This is an almost unbelievable update from the BLS, considering how much U.S. economic growth has been cooling.