Another month of strong payroll gain, the headline number showing a net gain of 943k jobs (mkt 870k) while revisions also shifted upward (a net 146k added for the past three months).  703k of the July gain came from private payrolls (mkt 700k).  Manufacturing added 27k jobs and government 240k, accounting for all of the surprise.  Labour participation edged up to 61.7% which left the unemployment rate at 5.7% (down from 5.9% but above the 5.4% median guess).  Prime age participation (25-54) saw a further surge, for both male and female workers.  This is a positive trend and reinforces our lack of concern for labour scarcity.  It’s important to contrast this with the post-GFC period where prime participation continued to fall after the initial crisis.