Economy Gains 467,000 Jobs in January; Unemployment Steady at 4%

AFL-CIO

Economy Gains 467,000 Jobs in January; Unemployment Steady at 4%

BLS

The U.S. economy gained 467,000 jobs in January, and the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 4%, according to figures released Friday morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In response to the January job numbers, AFL-CIO Chief Economist William Spriggs said:

Mercifully, local government employment is up 313,000 since last year, and is likely because of the American Rescue Plan helping state and local governments, with a heavy target on getting money to the local government level.

Over the year, wage growth was solid, at a little over 5%, and except for those low-wage workers in leisure and hospitality, running around current inflation projections. Leisure and hospitality workers, at 13% pay increases, are benefiting from rising minimum wages, most of which are indexed to inflation. So, the Fed should not see anything to suggest wages are out of hand.

He also tweeted:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last month’s biggest job gains were in leisure and hospitality (+151,000), professional and business services (+86,000), retail trade (+61,000), transportation and warehousing (+54,000), local government education (+29,000), health care (+18,000) and wholesale trade (+16,000). Employment showed little change over the month in mining, construction, manufacturing, information, financial activities and other services.

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (3.8%) and White Americans (3.4%) edged up in January. The jobless rates for teenagers (10.9%), Black Americans (6.9%), Hispanics (4.9%), adult women (3.6%) and Asian Americans (3.6%) showed little or no change over the month.

The number of long-term unemployed workers (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) declined in January and accounted for 25.9% of the total unemployed.

Kenneth Quinnell
Fri, 02/04/2022 – 09:43

Updated: February 7, 2022 — 2:14 pm