US hiring lifts most in a year, in January
But wage gains cooled and the US government shutdown pushed up the unemployment rate
Washington — US hiring in January topped all forecasts while wage gains cooled and the government shutdown pushed up the unemployment rate, signalling job gains remain robust without major inflation pressures that would worry US Federal Reserve officials. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 304,000, the most in almost a year, after a downwardly revised 222,000 gain the prior month, a labour department report showed on Friday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey called for an increase of 165,000, following an initially reported 312,000 in December. Average hourly earnings rose just 0.1% from the prior month, missing estimates and the smallest increase since late 2017. The annual gain of 3.2% matched forecasts though was down from an upwardly revised 3.3% in December. The jobless rate increased to 4%, reflecting the shutdown, as the number of unemployed on temporary layoff rose by 175,000, many of them federal workers, according to the department. Stock futures erased losses, treasuri...
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