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Thursday, March 28, 2024

U.S. hiring surged in January but strength in doubt

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U.S. hiring surged in January but strength in doubt
U.S. hiring surged in January but strength in doubt

The U.S. economy added a stronger-than-expected 225,000 new jobs in January but revisions to past figures hint at a labor market that wasn't as strong as first reported.

Conway G.

Gittens has the details.

The labor market kicked off the new year in solid fashion.

U.S. hiring picked up in January much faster than expected.

225,000 new jobs were created last month, according to data released Friday by the Labor Department.

Unseasonably mild temperatures gave hiring in weather-sensitive sectors like construction a boost.

A tightening labor market is starting to consistently matter where it counts: wallets.

Average paychecks saw a 3.1 percent jump over the past 12 months.

That pay raise is likely to be enough to ensure the mighty U.S. consumer keeps on spending.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate moved up to 3.6 percent as more Americans returned to the workforce and started looking for work.

Despite January's solid hiring data there are some cracks showing.

Revisions by the Labor Department showed the economy created half a million fewer jobs than previously announced for the period of April 2018 to March 2019.

That takes some of the bite out of this claim...... SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SAYING: "I AM THRILLED TO REPORT TO YOU TONIGHT THAT OUR ECONOMY IS THE BEST IT HAS EVER BEEN." So far during Trump's first three years in the White House, he's created roughly 1.4 million fewer jobs than President Obama did in his last three years.

And Trump's pledge to revive factory employment is under strain.

Manufacturing lost 12,000 jobs last month, which was more than double the decline seen the month before.

The sector continued to feel the pressure from trade wars between the U.S. and a number of its trading partners.

Also impacting factory jobs: A production shutdown of the 737 MAX at Boeing.

And the sector is likely to suffer even more job losses as the coronavirus disrupts supply chains in the manufacturing hub of China, already forcing American companies such as Apple, Tesla and many others to shutdown production.

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