02/04/2022

U.S. Job Growth Soars Past Expectations With 467,000 Added

Economists expected employers only to add 150,000 jobs last month

U.S. job growth blew past expectations in January, as the economy brushed off a record-breaking surge in COVID-19 cases nationwide that threatened to sideline millions of workers and kept many consumers at home.

The Labor Department said in its monthly payroll report released Friday that payrolls in January rose by 467,000, easily topping the 150,000 jobs gain forecast by Refinitiv economists. The unemployment rate, which is calculated based on a separate survey, ticked up slightly to 4 percent.

The surprise gain comes after the Biden administration spent the week publicly bracing for an ugly report that officials warned could show the economy actually lost jobs last month. But COVID-19 cases have eased in recent weeks, with the seven-day moving average falling to 596,860, down 20 percent from the prior week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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