943,000 more jobs in July

Almost a one million new jobs were added in July, dropping the national unemployment rate to 5.4 percent. According to a report issued by the U.S. Department of Labor on Friday, nonfarm payrolls rose by 943,000 for the month, the biggest increase since August 2020.

CNBC reports that economists queried by Dow Jones were expecting a rate of 5.7 percent and 845,000 new jobs. Those gains came while companies grappled with a rise in coronavirus cases and a tight labor market.

In response to the report, Wall Street rejoiced. The Dow Jones average hit a record high of 35,208.51 and S&P 500 jumped to 4,436.52, also a record.

Student loan pause will continue

A moratorium on federal student loan payments will be extended through Jan. 31, the U.S. Department of Education announced Friday.

The pause was going to expire in September. According to The New York Times, over 40 million people have federal student loans. During the moratorium, the loans are interest-free and they are not assessed penalties for non-payment.

Going for the gold at Tokyo Olympics

Some of the most high-profile games at this year’s Summer Olympics are today and Saturday. The U.S. men’s basketball team will face France for the gold medal at 7:30 p.m. our time.

The American baseball team will face Japan in the gold medal game at 3 a.m. Saturday our time. The U.S. women’s water polo team will meet Spain.

Earlier today, the U.S. women’s volleyball team defeated Serbia 3-0 and the women’s basketball team defeated Serbia 79-59. Both American teams advance to the gold medal game.

The United States is near 100 medals won at the Tokyo Olympics. As of 4 p.m. (our time) Friday, American athletes and teams have won 98 medals, followed by China with 79, Russian Olympic Committee with 62, Great Britain with 58 and Japan with 51.

As for gold medals (first places), China leads with 36, followed by the U.S. with 31, Japan with 24 and Great Britain with 18. Tied for fifth place are the Russians and Australia with 17 each.