Despite Omicron Spread, US Jobs Increased in January... Monetary Tightening Gains Momentum

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] The U.S. Department of Labor announced on the 4th (local time) that non-farm payrolls increased by 467,000 last month. This is a level nearly four times the market forecast.

By industry, all jobs increased. Leisure and hospitality added 151,000 jobs, professional and business services added 86,000, and retail trade increased by 61,000.

The unemployment rate in January rose slightly to 4.0% from 3.9% in the previous month. The labor force participation rate increased by 0.3 percentage points from the previous month to 62.2%, marking the highest level since March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began in earnest.

The average hourly wage rose 0.7% from the previous month and increased 5.7% compared to the same month last year.

Despite the spread of the new COVID-19 variant Omicron, the strong employment indicators have led to speculation that the pace of monetary tightening by the U.S. central bank, the Federal Reserve (Fed), may accelerate. Initially, the market had expected that the job growth in January would significantly slow down or decline due to the spread of Omicron infections last month.

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