July’s job gains ‘shockingly’ strong as construction adds 32K positions

Anirban Basu, chief economist for ABC, said the numbers held some big surprises, but not all of them were good.

“Today’s employment report was expected to show an economy not yet in recession but at least headed in that direction,” he said. “Shockingly, that did not come to pass.”

The upside surprise actually drove stocks lower Friday, as the news is expected to give the Federal Reserve more motivation to continue to raise interest rates later this year.

While the overall job gains were positive, Basu said the broader economic environment still poses significant challenges. For months, economists have been warning of recession, a possibility that was underscored when U.S. GDP contracted for two consecutive quarters through June.

READ MORE