United States Employers Add 353,000 Jobs in January despite Wave of Layoffs
Job gains occurred in professional and business services, health care, retail trade, and social assistance, the report noted. Employment declined in the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction industry.
Professional and business services added 74,000 jobs in January, considerably higher than the average monthly increase of 14,000 jobs in 2023. Employment in health care rose by 70,000. Retail trade employment increased by 45,000 in January but has shown little net growth since early 2023. Employment in social assistance rose by 30,000 in January.
Employment in the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction industry declined by 5,000 in January, following little net change in 2023.
Total non-farm payroll employment rose by an upwardly revised 333,000 in December. Payroll employment increased by an average of 255,000 per month in 2023, the report noted.
Despite continued job growth, a number of companies across the tech, finance, and retail industries made significant cuts in 2023, and a few more have announced plans for cuts this year, which could weaken the labor market going forward.
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