2018.02.0419:09:00UTC+00U.S. Labor Market Strengthens Further in January

The U.S. labor market continued to gather momentum in January, as employers added more jobs than anticipated and wage growth clocked in at its strongest level in over eight years.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, payrolls increased by 200, 000 in January and the unemployment rate stood at 4.1 percent. Meanwhile, wages observed their biggest since since the end of the Great Recession.

Economists had expected job growth of 180,000 and a jobless rate of 4.1 percent for the month. A wider measure of unemployment that includes that covers discouraged employees and those who are only working a part-time job rose to 8.2 percent, the highest since September.

Aside from the solid payroll growth, average hourly earnings rose 0.3 percent for the month, matching estimates and showing an annualized increased of 2.9 percent. The figures are the strongest since mid-2009 as the two-year economic slump was coming to an end. But the average work week declined two-tenths to 34.3 hours.