Another sign of a tight U.S. job market is that the labor force is experiencing above-average growth this year.

The labor force expanded by 105,000 people on a net basis in July, bringing the 2018 monthly average to 235,000. For comparison, the monthly gains in 2017 and 2016 averaged 72,000 and 141,000 per month, respectively.

The labor force participation rate remained at 62.9% in July. As the Dallas Federal Reserve points out (August 7, 2018), “despite its aging population, the participation rate has moved sideways since 2014 and has remained within a similar range (62.3 to 63.7 percent) over the past five years.”