Quick Facts:
- Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 517,000 in January.
- The federal unemployment rate edged down to 3.4 percent.
- Job growth was widespread, led by gains in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, and health care.
- The employment-population ratio increased by 0.2 percentage points over the month to 60.1 percent and the labor force participation rate was little changed at 62.4 percent.
- Long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was unchanged at 1.1 million. The long-term unemployed accounted for 19.4 percent of the total unemployed in January.
Looking Forward:
- The American labor market unleashed a burst of hiring in January, producing another wave of robust job growth even as interest rates continue to rise. Underscoring the labor market’s extraordinary vibrancy was the unemployment rate, which fell to 3.4 percent, the lowest since 1969.
- Even as businesses across the country hired with unexpected zeal, wage growth slowed slightly to 0.3 percent compared with December, an indication that some of the pressure to lure employees with pay raises may be easing.
- The labor market has remained extraordinarily tight. In addition to the report on Friday, the government released data this week showing that the number of posted jobs per available unemployed worker — a measure that policymakers have been watching closely, rose again in December. And despite a cavalcade of layoffs in the technology sector, the overall number of pink slips has stayed extremely low.
- The information sector lost 5,000 jobs, a relative blip despite headline-grabbing news of layoffs at technology giants such as Microsoft and Google. Many forecasters expect the labor market to also slow this year as the Fed’s rate moves filter through the economy.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
