The U.S. economy shrugged off the pandemic’s omicron wave and added 467,000 jobs in January, a tally released Friday by the Labor Department that far exceeded expectations. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected just 125,000 new jobs.
Wages picked up 0.7% percent, lifting the 12-month gain to 5.7%, a pay raise that helps American workers offset the impact of inflation.
The labor force participation rate also rose to its highest level during the pandemic, meaning more of the longterm unemployed are dusting off their resumes and entering the job market. Consequently, the unemployment rate ticked up to 4%.
More good news came from the Labor Department’s upward revisions to previous months’ job numbers. CNBC reports:
December, which initially was reported as a gain of 199,000, went up to 510,000. November surged to 647,000 from the previously reported 249,000. For the two months alone, the initial counts were revised up by 709,000. The revisions came as part of the annual adjustments from the BLS that saw sizeable changes for many of the months in 2021.
Those changes brought the 2021 total to 6.665 million, easily the biggest single-year gain in U.S. history.
“It’s hard to find a weak spot in this report,” said Kathy Jones, chief fixed income strategist at Charles Schwab, to CNBC.
“There’s all kind of good news [and it] suggests people are getting back to normal,” said Drew Matus, chief market strategist for MetLife Investment Management, to The Washington Post. “In the big picture, it’s a very encouraging report. People returning to the workforce is what you wanted to see, and the gains were pretty widespread across different groups. The most important thing is people want to get back to work and they’re trying to get back to work.”
The Post notes:
The industries experiencing growth in January were lead by the leisure and hospitality sector, which added 151,000 jobs on the month, mostly in restaurants and bars. Professional and business services added 86,000 jobs. Retailers added 61,000 jobs in January, which is typically an off month. Transportation and warehousing added 54,000 jobs.
Bloomberg adds:
The surprise display of strength suggests the labor market continues to improve, despite the temporary disruption from record-high levels of coronavirus infections and the resulting absenteeism from work. The data further reinforce Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s description last week of the labor market as “strong” and validate the central bank’s intention to raise interest rates in March to combat the highest inflation in nearly 40 years.
