BREAKING: U.S. employers stepped up hiring in January, adding 467,000 jobs despite a wave of omicron inflections.
WASHINGTON -- U.S. employers added a burst of 467,000 jobs in January despite a wave of omicron inflections that sickened millions of workers, kept many consumers at home and left businesses from restaurants to manufacturers short-staffed.
Economists have forecast that the Labor Department will report Friday that employers added just 170,000 jobs last month, according to data provider FactSet. They expect the unemployment rate to remain unchanged at 3.9%. Reported omicron infections peaked at above 800,000 a day during the second week of January — precisely the period when the government measured employment for the month. A dismal jobs figure would be a stark reminder that nearly two years after it began, the pandemic retains a tight grip on the economy.
But about one-fifth of workers — particularly lower-paid service employees, who are most likely to contract the virus — have no paid leave. If they missed a full pay period for sickness, their jobs would be counted as lost for the month, even though they were still employed. That would shrink the government’s job count for January.
Any hiring slowdown or job loss would come after the U.S. gained more jobs last year, adjusted for the size of the workforce, than in any year since 1978. The unemployment rate fell by nearly 3 percentage points — from 6.7% to 3.9% — the sharpest yearly decline on records. Much of that improvement represented a rebound from record job losses in 2020, driven by the pandemic.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Rappel de 817 000 Tesla pour un problème de logiciel | Actualités automobile | Auto123Tesla rappelle 817 143 véhicules pour corriger un problème logiciel qui peut rendre muet le carillon de ceinture de sécurité qui est censé retentir au déma
Read more »
Payrolls Gain 467,000 in January Despite Omicron SurgeNonfarm payrolls were expected to increase 150,000 in January, according to economists surveyed by Dow Jones.
Read more »
US companies unexpectedly slash jobs in January as omicron surge batters economyPrivate job growth stumbled in January as surging omicron cases weighed on the economy's recovery from the pandemic.
Read more »
America lost 301,000 private-sector jobs in January, ADP saysOmicron threw a wrench into America's economy at the start of 2022: The US private sector lost hundreds of thousands of jobs in January, according to Wednesday's ADP Employment Report.
Read more »
January jobs report could be ugly after recent omicron surgeThe record-breaking surge in COVID-19 cases likely dampened January job growth, with the latest payroll estimate on Friday morning expected to show that hiring slowed markedly last month as the omicron variant sidelined millions of workers.
Read more »