Experts say the U.S. workforce is undergoing a gradual rebuilding process amid challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

This was emphasized in job growth data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Friday.

The new statistics revealed that the economy added 943,000 jobs in July and the unemployment rate fell to 5.4%, marking a new low of the pandemic era, according to CNN.  

This means the nation saw its most significant job gain since August last year, when more than 1 million positions were added back.

The June jobs gains was also revised, showing that 938,000 positions were added.

Since May 2020, America has added back 16.7 million jobs, which is still 5.7 million short of its pre-pandemic level.

Leading contributors to the job gains were the hospitality and leisure industries, their combined total accounting for more than a third of the growth. Approximately 253,000 jobs were added in restaurants and bars last month.

Experts note that the resurgence in COVID cases caused by the Delta variant has not appeared to have much of an impact on the jobs data, but this a factor that is subject to change in the coming months.