The U.S. added a whopping 528,000 new jobs in July.  Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast 258,000 new jobs.

Hiring was broad-based as businesses created the most new jobs in five months. The number of people working finally returned to February 2020 levels — the last month before the pandemic.

The unemployment rate, meanwhile, slipped to 3.5% from 3.6%, matching the lowest level since the late 1960s.

While the big gain in hiring contradicts July’s GDP report that suggests the U.S. teeters on recession, it will likely set the table for the Fed to raise rates by another 75bps in September.