Kameleon007/iStockBy ELLA TORRES, ABC News

(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 10.2% in July, falling slightly below June’s 11.1%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

There were 1.8 million jobs added in the month as the country continues to grapple with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

While the numbers are better than expected, they show a slow climb for any job gains and there are still 12.9 million fewer jobs than before the pandemic shut down the economy.

The jobs added in July were in leisure and hospitality, government, retail trade, professional and business services, other services, and health care.

Leisure and hospitality saw the largest gains out of the sectors which added jobs, with employment increasing by 592,000.

The food and drink industry also increased, though by slightly less with 502,000. However, despite the gains from July, June and May, employment in the industry is down by 2.6 million since February.

The service industry has been particularly hard hit during the pandemic, with Americans mostly being told to stay inside and many restaurants, bars and cafes shuttering in March.

Black people faced the highest rates of unemployment in July, at 14.6%, with Hispanic people behind that at 12.9%. Asian people have an unemployment rate of 12%, while white people have the lowest numbers, at 9.2%.

By age, teenagers have the highest rates of 19.3%. Adult women recorded an unemployment rate of 10.5%, while adult men saw a rate of 9.4%.

At its peak, the unemployment rate hit 14.7% in April. In February, prior to the health crisis, the unemployment rate was at a historic low of 3.5%.

The monthly jobs report comes a day after weekly jobless claims topped one million for the 20th week in a row.

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