Other employment numbers have been subject to a lot of revision as well.

The not-so-good news? Inflation has eaten up most of the gains.

Between COVID, shifting policy, and “The Big Quit”, it’s hard to get a handle on how the employment picture’s changing.

The number of people who reported they had jobs surged by 1 million, pushing the jobless rate down from 5.9% in June. Last month, 261,000 people returned to the job market.

The good news? The U.S. economy created 850,000 jobs in June. The bad news? There are still 7 million fewer jobs than before the pandemic.

That burst of hiring is well above the average of the previous three months.

It’s not just child care and health issues. Many people are looking at their old jobs and saying no thanks.

Some unemployed workers may need new skills and training for jobs that are in high demand.

The pace of hiring picked up in May, with U.S. employers adding 559,000 jobs, but it missed economists’ forecasts.

The stigma impacts employers who are less likely to hire those applicants and job seekers who internalize shame and doubt.