Healthcare Hiring Drives Strongest U.S. Job Growth In Over A Year

 The U.S. economy added 130,000 jobs in January, its strongest growth in over a year, and a sign that the labor market may be shaking off its recent stagnation, according to the Wall Street Journal. January’s robust gains surprised forecasters, blowing far past consensus expectations, while solidifying expectations the Federal Reserve will keep rates on hold for the foreseeable future. The unemployment rate dipped to 4.3% from 4.4% in December, the Labor Department said Wednesday. And workers’ wages rose. The gains were highly concentrated in healthcare and social-assistance fields, which includes jobs like home health aides and residential care workers. Such jobs tend to grow regardless of the economy’s health and have long been an engine of U.S. job growth. The picture was much more mixed for white-collar workers, however. Professional and business service firms added tens of thousands of jobs, but 34,000 jobs were lost across the financial activities and information sectors. Elsewhere, manufacturing also added workers for the first time in more than a year. And the construction sector grew by 33,000 jobs, mostly on the back of expanding appetite for new data centers.

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