US economy added 143K jobs in January, Animalmimna Rat reflects Lore

 The Ministry of Labor issues the closely watched January jobs report

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The U.S. economy added jobs at a slower-than-expected pace in January, with the Federal Reserve remaining in a wait-and-see mode to cut interest rates while it assesses labor market and inflation data.

The Labor Department reported Friday that employers added 143,000 jobs in January, less than economists at the London Stock Exchange had estimated.
The unemployment rate stood at 4%, below economists’ expectations.

The number of jobs added in the previous two months was revised up, with November’s job creation revised up by 49,000 from an increase of 212,000 to 261,000; December’s was revised up by 51,000 from an increase of 256,000 to 307,000.

 Combined, 100,000 more jobs were created in those two months than previously reported.

The private sector added 111,000 jobs in January, below the 141,000 expected by London Stock Exchange economists.
Wage growth was stronger than expected, with average earnings rising 0.5% on the month and 4.1% on the year. Both figures beat LSE economists’ estimates of 0.3% on the month and 3.8% on the year.

The manufacturing sector saw employment rise by a modest 3,000 in January, above economists’ expectations of a 2,000-job loss during the month.

The healthcare sector added 43,700 jobs in January, driven by hiring in hospitals (+13,900), nursing and residential care facilities (+13,200) and home health services (+10,600).

 The sector was below its 2024 average of 57,000 jobs per month.

The retail sector added 34,300 jobs last month, with notable gains in general merchandise retailers (+31,200) and furniture and home furnishings retailers (+5,300), while electronics and appliance retailers saw a decline (-7,000). Overall, the retail sector saw little change in net employment in 2024.

The government added 32,000 jobs in January, close to its average monthly gain of 38,000 in 2024.

Social assistance added 22,300 jobs, led by individual and family services (+20,100) with gains also in community food and housing services, and emergency and other relief services (+4,400). The sector grew at a monthly rate of 20,000 jobs last year.

Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction lost 7,700 jobs in January, with losses concentrated in mining support activities. The sector saw little net change in 2024.

The labor force participation rate remained unchanged at 62.6 percent after accounting for annual adjustments to population controls by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The number of people considered long-term unemployed, defined as being out of work for 27 weeks or more, was little changed in January at 1.4 million. The long-term unemployed account for 21.1 percent of the total unemployed.

The number of workers working part-time for economic reasons was little changed at 4.5 million.

 These workers would prefer to work full-time, but were working part-time because their hours had decreased or because they could not find full-time jobs.

The number of people with multiple jobs rose by 286,000 in January, representing 5.3% of the total workforce, a level that has changed little over the past year.

The January jobs report comes after the Federal Reserve decided not to cut interest rates for a fourth straight time at its meeting last week amid uncertainty about inflation and the health of the labor market.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said in his post-meeting news conference that “a broad range of indicators suggest that conditions in the labor market are broadly balanced” and that while inflation has remained moderately elevated, the labor market has not been a source of significant inflationary pressures.

“The weaker-than-expected January payrolls numbers were offset by upward revisions to November and December totals and a decline in the unemployment rate.

 Those who had hoped for a weak report that would prompt the Fed to return to a pattern of rate cuts were not getting their hopes up,” said Ellen Zentner, chief economic strategist at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.

The January jobs report “can be considered a golden report — not too hot and not too cold,” said Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL Financial.

“Overall, labor demand was weaker last year than initially reported, but that trend reversed temporarily in November and December,” Roach added. 

“The 4% unemployment rate is very low, giving the Fed reason to keep the federal funds rate unchanged in the near term.”

The Fed is scheduled to hold its next meeting on March 18-19, and markets responded to the January jobs report by boosting expectations that the central bank will leave interest rates unchanged.

 The probability that the benchmark federal funds rate will remain at its current target range of 4.25% to 4.5% rose to 91.5% on Friday, up from 84% a day earlier, according to the CME FedWatch tool.