Friday, February 5, 2016
151K New Jobs In January, Unemployment Rate Down To 4.9%
Headline weakness masks an otherwise solid employment report for
January. Nonfarm payrolls rose 151,000 vs expectations for 188,000.
December was revised 30,000 lower to 262,000 but November was revised
28,000 higher to 280,000. Now the signs of strength as the unemployment
fell 1 tenth to 4.9 percent while the participation rate rose 1 tenth to
62.7 percent. In another sign of strength, the average workweek rose to
34.6 hours to end a long run at 34.5 hours. Average hourly earnings
rose a very sharp 0.5 percent though the monthly gain didn't make for
any change in the year-on-year rate which holds steady at a still
moderate 2.5 percent. The labor market may be backing off slightly so
far this year but it continues to approach full employment, a factor
that offers support for further Federal Reserve rate hikes.
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