Employers across the U.S. added 528,000 jobs in July in an unexpectedly strong performance for the labor market, the Labor Department said Friday. The big gain comes despite inflation-cooling interest rate increases from the Fed which many economists fear will ultimately lead to job losses later in the year as consumer demand slows down. Total employment in America is now back to its pre-pandemic levels in February 2020—the unemployment rate was 3.5 percent, equalling a 50-year low before COVID struck. The strong jobs figures provide some evidence that the U.S. has not entered a recession despite data last week showing the country’s gross domestic product had contracted for a second consecutive quarter when adjusted for inflation. Slowdowns in home building and business investment are likely to have secondary effects in the labor market eventually.