With 528,000 net new jobs, upward revisions to prior months, and employment now slightly above its pre-Covid level, the July jobs report was absolutely gobsmacking. However, the unemployment rate fell from 3.6% to 3.5%, tying a 52-year low, the labor force shrank, and wage growth accelerated. These numbers put paid to the idea we are in a recession and gives the Fed the green light to keep rapidly hiking rates.