The U.S. labor market has been on an impressive streak, with employers adding an average of 356,000 jobs every month over the last three months. Last month, the number of jobs added was even higher, and the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in more than half a century. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at the summary of the latest research from the Labor Department, and discuss the sectors that are hiring, wages, and job growth over the last two years.
The job market remains tight, with the unemployment rate at 3.4%. Restaurants and bars added 99,000 jobs last month, and a surge in new job openings suggests demand for workers in the industry remains strong. Factories also added 19,000 jobs in January, even though manufacturing orders have slowed in recent months. Wages are still rising, but not as fast as earlier in the pandemic. Average wages in January were 4.4% higher than a year ago.
The report also shows that job gains in 2021 and early 2022 were even stronger than initially reported. U.S. employers added 568,000 more jobs than initially counted in the twelve months ending last March. In the 24 months since President Biden took office, employers have added a record 11.9 million jobs.
The labor market continues to be a bright spot in the U.S. economy, and it’s encouraging to see such strong job growth. It’s clear that employers are still hiring, and that the labor market is still tight. Even though wages are moderating, they’re still higher than they were before the pandemic. It will be interesting to see how the labor market evolves in the coming months.
Source: www.npr.org