Job Growth Surges In January, Beating Wall Street Expectations

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"Construction — The report showed a steady increase in job growth last month.

Robert Alexander/Getty Images

Topline: The U.S. jobs market grew at a better-than-expected rate in January thanks to unseasonably warm weather, beating Wall Street forecasts and suggesting that the labor market can continue to fuel economic growth in 2020, the latest monthly report from the Labor Department shows.

January saw a pickup in hiring, as 225,000 jobs were added to the U.S. economy last month—better than the 158,o00 jobs expected by economists, according to Dow Jones.
That’s an uptick from the 145,000 jobs added in December: The labor market in January benefitted from warmer-than-usual weather, which encouraged more hiring than expected in construction and other industries.
The unemployment rate, however, climbed to from 3.5% to 3.6%, no longer holding steady its lowest level since 1969, according to CNBC.
Average hourly earnings also rose by 3.1—compared to the 3% growth expected—marking 18 consecutive months of wage gains above 3%.
The strong jobs report in January comes amid other solid economic data: Earlier this week, a report from ADP and Moody’s Analytics said that U.S. private payrolls rose by 291,000 last month—almost twice the expected number and the biggest monthly payroll gain in almost five years.
The strong January jobs report indicates that the economy can likely continue its moderate expansion, despite weak manufacturing data and a slowdown in business investment.

Crucial quote: The January jobs report will likely be a “non-event” for the markets, predicts Vital Knowledge founder Adam Crisafulli. “This is certainly a healthy report although [it] probably doesn’t mean much for stocks. The Fed isn’t likely to alter its policy stance based on this release either.”

Crucial statistics: The S&P 500 is on course for its best weekly gains in eight months, as stocks rallied for four days straight earlier this week thanks to lessening coronavirus fears. While all three major indexes looked set to open lower on Friday, futures pared back losses after the release of the strong January jobs report. Dow futures are now down just 0.16%, while S&P 500 futures are down 0.13% and Nasdaq futures by 0.24%.

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Construction workers in Palm Springs, California, USA — The report showed a steady increase in job growth last month.

Robert Alexander/Getty Images

January saw a pickup in hiring, as 225,000 jobs were added to the U.S. economy last month—better than the 158,o00 jobs expected by economists, according to Dow Jones.
That’s an uptick from the 145,000 jobs added in December: The labor market in January benefitted from warmer-than-usual weather, which encouraged more hiring than expected in construction and other industries.
The unemployment rate, however, climbed to from 3.5% to 3.6%, no longer holding steady its lowest level since 1969, according to CNBC.
Average hourly earnings also rose by 3.1—compared to the 3% growth expected—marking 18 consecutive months of wage gains above 3%.
The strong jobs report in January comes amid other solid economic data: Earlier this week, a report from ADP and Moody’s Analytics said that U.S. private payrolls rose by 291,000 last month—almost twice the expected number and the biggest monthly payroll gain in almost five years.
The strong January jobs report indicates that the economy can likely continue its moderate expansion, despite weak manufacturing data and a slowdown in business investment.