The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its January employment figures today. Here's the take from Oregon's State Employment Economist Nick Beleiciks:
Today’s news that 257,000 jobs were added nationally in January included an announcement that job gains in November (+423,000) and December (+329,000) were much stronger than originally thought. November’s revised figures show the largest one-month gain since May 2010 (due to temporary hires for the Census), and the largest one-month job gain in private sector jobs since 1997. Altogether, the last three months of job gains show job growth similar to the late 1990s.
In addition to strong job growth, average hourly earnings saw an increase this month of 12 cents, or almost 0.5 percent. This is after a December decrease of 5 cents. At the January figure of $24.75, average hourly wages are up 2.2 percent over the year, not adjusting for inflation.
Other highlights from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' January jobs report:- Over the year, job growth averaged 267,00 per month.
- Unemployed persons increased slightly to about 9 million.
- The U.S. unemployment rate was was little changed at 5.7 percent in January and down 1.0 percentage points over the year.
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