US adds better than expected 227000 jobs in January 2017
U.S. employers hired briskly in January and more Americans joined the workforce, suggesting the labour market still has room to grow after years of expansion. Jobs outside of farms increased a seasonally adjusted 227000 last month, the best gain since September, the Labour Department said.
Meanwhile, an increase in the share of Americans working or actively seeking work caused the unemployment rate to rise to 4.8 % from 4.7% a month earlier. Economists predicted a gain of 174000 jobs and a 4.7 % jobless rate. The report also offered signs the labour market may not be as tight as thought. Wages, for example, rose only modestly after signs of a pickup last year, with the average hourly earnings of private-sector workers climbing 0.1 % to 2% from the prior month.