US jobs market beats expectations in January

467,000

The US added 467,000 jobs to its non-farm economy in January, beating expectations following a perceived lacklustre end to last year, while one commentator warned the data would send markets into a “frenzy”.

Wages in the US job market also increased more than expected, but as the participation rate rose, unemployment also creeped up from 3.9% to 4%. Seema Shah, chief strategist at Principal Global Investors, said: "If there was any nervousness within the Fed about their hawkish pivot, today's jobs number will have disintegrated it. In recent days, fears around the Omicron impact had prompted several analysts to call for a negative payroll number - imagine what it would have been without Omicron!" She noted the rise in participation would be welcomed by Fed members, "particularly Lael Brai...