WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – February’s 273,000 payrolls count as of 24 days ago, before the intensification of the corona virus scare, was not entirely irrelevant even in the context of crisis, showing the strong hiring and income additions keep reinforcing the base strength of a U.S. economy increasingly challenged by the anticipation of severe destruction of demand in the months ahead.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics report issued Friday, reflecting the survey snapshot of paychecks on the 12th of January, was sturdy on all counts, with an unemployment rate back down a tenth to 3.5% but a measure of hourly wages still disappointingly on the mediocre side showing just 3% growth over the year through January.
December and January’s revisions added 85,000 more payroll slots to the total, one of the most positive set of restatements in recent years.
The labor participation rate stayed at 63.4%, resisting the downward push of Boomer retirements as new entrants are drawn into the work force, yet it remain at a level well below that of other developed economies.
The report said notable job gains occurred in health care and social assistance, food services and drinking places, government, construction, professional and technical services, and financial activities. Manufacturing jobs hardly moved.
Health care employment, with 57,000 jobs, again exceeded its 12-month trend with its subset of social assistance up 25,000.
Restaurants and bars showed an outsize 53,000 increase, keeping up the increased pace of hiring evident in the past seven months, following a early 2019 lull.
Government employment at all levels turned in a bigger-than-usual contribution of 45,000, with 8,000 of it increased federal hiring for the 2020 Census.
Construction showed a second month of strong hiring apparently reflecting warmer-than-usual temperatures, up 42,000.
Professional and technical services that undergird expansion added 32,000 jobs.
Thursday’s latest tally of claims for initial jobless benefits, reflecting week-ago layoff numbers much more recent than the day’s monthly jobs figures, showed no deterioration either, improving by 3,000 to 216,000, still around a half century low.