Key Points:
- Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 467,000 in January as the unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.0%.
- Consensus among economists was a gain of 150,000 jobs.
- Nonfarm employment is down by 2.9 Million, or 1.9%, from pre-pandemic levels in February 2020.
- Employment in leisure and hospitality added 151,000 jobs, professional and business services increased by 86,000, retail trade rose by 61,000, and transportation and warehousing increased by 54,000 in January.
- Manufacturing and construction employment were little changed in January.
- In January, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 23 cents to $31.63.
- The average workweek for all private employees fell by 0.2 hours to 34.5 hours in January.
- The labor force participation rate held at 62.2% in January.