U.S. economy creates robust 227,000 jobs in January; unemployment rate remains low at 4.8%

The labor market started the year strong, adding a robust 227,000 net new jobs last month while more people began looking for work, the Labor Department said Friday.

Although the January job growth figure exceeded expectations — and was the best since September — that was somewhat offset by a downward revision of job growth the previous two months by 39,000.

Those changes meant job growth averaged 187,000 for 2016 and that President Trump is inheriting a solid labor market.

The unemployment rate last month inched up a tenth of a percentage point to 4.8%, but that wasn’t bad news.

The uptick was largely caused by 584,000 more people looking for work last month after accounting for annual adjustments made to U.S. population figures.

The percentage of working-age Americans in the force increased to 62.9% in January. That was the best level since September, though still near a 40-year low.

But wage growth remained a concern. Average hourly earnings were up 3 cents to $26 last month, down from December’s strong 6-cent increase. For the 12 months ended Jan. 31, wages increased 2.5%.

The slowdown in wage growth came even though worker pay got a boost last month because minimum wage increases kicked in on Jan. 1 in 19 states, either through automatic cost-of-living bumps or scheduled changes passed by voters or lawmakers.

In California, the minimum wage rose to $10.50 an hour, from $10, as the first step in a law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown last year that is scheduled to boost the wage to $15 by 2020.

The construction industry had a big jump in hiring in January, adding 36,000 net new jobs compared with just 2,000 the previous month, the Labor Department reported. But factory payroll growth slowed. Manufacturers added 5,000 net new jobs last month after an 11,000 gain the previous month.

Retailers had a strong month, increasing their payrolls by 46,000. But state governments shed 9,000 net jobs.

The January jobs report was the final one for the Obama administration, though job growth might have been influenced by increased business and consumer confidence after Trump’s election. The data was collected in the middle of last month before Trump took office.

Analysts had expected job gains last month of 175,000, and the unemployment rate to hold steady at 4.7%.

Ali Vayeghan was one of an unknown number of people whose plans were disrupted by President Trump’s entry ban. UC Berkeley was home of the free speech movement. Today, California’s flagship university is under fire from the right and left. Tread cautiously. That’s how Super Bowl advertisers are feeling in the fraught political landscape. Snapchat app maker Snap’s IPO filing might be the biggest ever for a Los Angeles company.

New research from Georgia Tech reveals how frog tongues work.

A speech by conservative firebrand and Milo Yiannopoulos was canceled at UC Berkeley on Wednesday amid violent protests that prompted President Trump to suggest cutting funding to the university.

Two Republicans senators have defected and will vote against Betsy DeVos for secretary of Education. Could President Trump’s proposed 20% border tax set off an international food fight? Are emails and texts sent on the personal devices of government employees a public record? 22,000 new U.S. factory jobs could be generated by limiting car imports from Mexico.

Neil M. Gorsuch, a highly regarded conservative jurist best known for upholding religious liberty rights in the legal battles over Obamacare, is President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee.

ALSO

Everything you need to know about Snapchat and Snap’s IPO

As strike drags on, SAG-AFTRA puts pressure on video game companies

Ruling ends Univision’s blackout on Charter’s Spectrum cable service

UPDATES:

6:20 a.m.: This article was updated to revise the growth in the number of people looking for work based on annual population adjustments.

5:55 a.m.: This article was updated with staff reporting, additional details and analysis.

This article originally was published at 5:30 a.m.

Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.