Strong US job figures
February 6, 2015
According to employment data released by the United States Labor Department on Friday, non-farm payrolls increased 257,000 in January. At the same time, data for November and December was revised to show a whopping 147,000 more jobs created than previously reported.
At 423,000, November's gain was the largest for any month since May 2010, when employment was boosted by government hiring for a national census. Over the past three months, more than one million jobs have been created, the first time that milestone has been reached since late 1997.
The unemployment rate, however, rose from 5.6 percent in December to 5.7 percent in January, because Americans poured into the labor force. The labor force participation rate, or the share of working-age Americans who are employed or at least looking for a job, rose two-tenths of a percentage point to 62.9 percent, the department said. As a result, the employment-to-population ratio rose to 59.3 percent, the highest since July 2009.
The manufacturing sector added 22,000 jobs last month, while construction payrolls increased 39,000. Oil and gas extraction employment, however, fell 1,900, reflecting layoffs connected to lower oil prices. Retail employment increased 45,900 after braking sharply in December.
Wages on the mend
According to the data, wages increased 12 cents last month, the largest gain since June 2007, after falling five cents in December. That took the year-on-year gain to 2.2 percent, the fastest since August 2014.
"The strong across-the-board employment report confirms the American economy's ability to create jobs, draw more people into the labor market and, finally, improve prospects for wage growth," Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic adviser at Allianz insurance company told the news agency Reuters.
Mid-year rate hike
Economists said the jobs data raised the prospect the US Fed would increase interest rates in mid-2015, despite US inflation still running below the bank's 2-percent target.
Heinrich Bayer, chief economist at Germany's Postbank told the news agency dpa that US job figures were "extremely strong" and would make a change in the Fed's rate policy "drawing nearer."
Last week, the US central bank - which has held borrowing costs near zero since December 2008 - ramped up its assessment of the labor market. Underutilization of labor resources had continued to "diminish," it said, as economic activity was "expanding at a solid pace."
uhe/nz (Reuters, dpa)