The job market continues to show resilience, as indicated by the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released this morning. The U.S. economy added 143,000 new jobs in January, which fell short of expectations set at 170,000 and below our own prediction of 160,000. However, revisions for the previous two months were a pleasant surprise, with December’s figures adjusted up by 51,000 to reach 307,000, and November’s numbers increased by 49,000, bringing them to 261,000. Thanks to these revisions, the average job creation over the past three months has climbed to 237,000 from a previous 170,000.
Additionally, January saw a slight dip in the unemployment rate to 4.0%, slipping just below both our prediction and general forecasts. Although the absolute number of unemployed individuals didn’t change significantly, adjustments made in the Household Survey due to annual population updates contributed to this decrease in the jobless rate.
Wages also saw an upward trend, with average hourly earnings rising by 17 cents from the previous month, marking a 4.1% increase from last year, up from a 3.9% rise in December. Meanwhile, the average workweek shortened slightly to 34.1 hours, which missed our forecast of 34.2 hours and the broader consensus of 34.3 hours.
Job gains were mostly notable in sectors like healthcare, retail, and social assistance. However, employment numbers remained relatively stable in industries such as construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, information, financial services, professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and others. The manufacturing sector, closely monitored by analysts, added 3,000 jobs during this period.
Despite these developments, the reaction in financial markets was muted, with stock futures showing minimal movement and the yield on the 10-year Treasury remaining steady.
