U.S. hiring surges in July

The U.S. economy roared into midsummer with a strong gain in hiring, but there are questions about its ability to maintain the momentum as the delta variant of the coronavirus causes growing concern.

Employers added 943,000 jobs in July, the Labor Department reported Friday, but the data was collected in the first half of the month, before variantrelated cases exploded in many parts of the country.

While the economy and job growth overall have been strong in recent months, experts fear that the variant’s spread could undermine those gains if new restrictions become necessary. Already, some events have been canceled, and many companies have pulled back from plans for employees to return to the office in September.

Still, with schools planning to reopen, at least for now, and Americans continuing to dine out and travel, the economy’s expansion remained on track last month.

President Biden hailed the report as a sign that the economy could weather the pandemic, crediting in part his administration’s efforts to encourage workers to get coronavirus vaccinations.

“We will doubtless have ups and downs along the way as we continue to battle the delta surge of COVID,” Biden said. “What is indisputable now is the Biden plan is working, the Biden plan produces results, and the Biden plan is moving the country forward.”

The unemployment rate fell to 5.4%, compared with 5.9% in June. Before the report, the consensus of economists polled by Bloomberg forecast a gain of 858,000 jobs, with the unemployment rate dipping to 5.7%.