U.S. Economy Adds 467,000 Jobs In January, Exceeding Expectations

deadline.com:

The U.S. economy added 467,000 jobs in January, exceeding expectations that the latest report would sow lackluster gains amid the Omicron variant.The unemployment rate ticked slightly upward to 4%.The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported growth in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services and transportation and warehousing.President Joe Biden is scheduled to make a statement on the latest numbers on Friday morning.Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics, wrote on Twitter, “Wow, the jobs numbers for January were great.

Despite millions out sick with Omicron, employers added close to 500k. That’s close to the average monthly gain for the past year.”He noted that even though the unemployment rate ticked up, it was because there was a big gain in labor force participation.“Still need more people to get back to work, but they are coming,” he wrote.The Department of Labor also revised figures from previous months.

The December jobs number, initially reported as 199,000, instead was raised to 510,000.Jason Furman, professor at Harvard and former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Barack Obama, wrote, “January 2022 will be remembered as the month the virus ceased to be boss.

It wreaked havoc & death at a terrible scale. But the economy no longer cares. People returned to the workforce. The economy added jobs.