While a recession was expected, the US unexpectedly adds 517,000 new jobs

Employers in the United States added 517,000 jobs in January, a surprisingly strong gain in the face of the Federal Reserve's aggressive effort to slow growth and tame inflation with higher interest rates.

The report paints a picture of a stable labor market with low unemployment, relatively few job cuts even as most economists predict a recession is on the way.

While good for workers, steady employer demand has also helped accelerate wage growth and contributed to high inflation.

But Fed inflation watchers can take some comfort from January's wage data: Average hourly wages rose 4.4 percent last month from a year ago, slower than the 4.8 percent year-over-year increase in December. And from December to January, wages rose 0.3 percent, below the 0.4 percent increase a month earlier.

On top of the big job gains it reported for January, the government on Friday also revised its estimate of employment gains in November and December to a total of 71,000.

More Americans also entered the workforce last month. The percentage of adults who either had a job or were looking for one, known as the labor force participation rate, rose to 62.4 percent. That was the highest level since March, though still well below pre-pandemic figures.

January's job gains far outpaced December's total of 260,000 and extended a string of strong employment gains that raised concerns at the Fed about inflationary pressures. The US central bank has raised its key rate eight times since March to try to curb inflation, which hit a four-decade high last year but has since slowed.

For all of 2022, the economy added a whopping average of 375,000 jobs per month. That was a pace strong enough to contribute to the painful inflation Americans have endured, the worst such run in 40 years. A tight labor market tends to put upward pressure on wages, and higher wages feed inflation.

The Fed — hoping to calm the labor market, the economy and inflation — has steadily raised borrowing rates, as recently as Wednesday. Year-over-year measures of consumer inflation have eased steadily since peaking at 9.1 percent in June.

Por në 6.5 për qind në dhjetor, inflacioni mbetet shumë mbi objektivin prej 2 për qind të Fed, kjo është arsyeja pse politikëbërësit e bankës qendrore kanë përsëritur synimin e tyre për të vazhduar rritjen e normave të huamarrjes për të paktën disa muaj të tjerë.

Politikëbërësit shpresojnë se punëdhënësit mund të ngadalësojnë rritjen e pagave dhe presionet inflacioniste duke reduktuar hapjet e vendeve të punës, por jo domosdoshmërisht duke pushuar nga puna shumë punonjës.

Por qëndrueshmëria e tregut të punës nuk po e bën më të lehtë atë rezultat të shpresuar. Të mërkurën, Departamenti i Punës raportoi se punëdhënësit publikuan 11 milionë vende pune në dhjetor, një rritje e papritur nga 10.4 milionë në nëntor dhe numri më i madh që nga korriku. Tani ka rreth dy vende të lira pune, mesatarisht, për çdo amerikan të papunë.

Source: AL Jazzera