517,000 new jobs added to economy in January

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that 517,000 new jobs not related to agriculture were added in January. This is 294,000 more than in December. Forecasts only estimated that the U.S. economy would add one-third of that number in the first month of 2023.

On the other hand, the unemployment rate decreased slightly by 0.1%. The number of unemployed people of working age is 5.7 million, equivalent to 3.4% of the total labor force.

The leisure and hospitality sector added the most jobs in January, with a total of 128,000. It was followed by the professional and business services sector with 82,000 jobs, public employment with 74,000, healthcare with 58,000 and retail trade with 30,000. The average wage increased by 10 cents/hour (+0.3% compared to December) to $34.7/hour.