OAN’s James Meyers
2:19 PM – Friday, February 2, 2024
In a surprising increase, the U.S. economy added an influx of new career positions even though unemployment rates have stayed steady.
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According to data released on Friday by the Labor Department, the economy added 353,000 jobs in January, and the unemployment rate clocked in at 3.7 percent.
The latest data released exceeded expectations from the Wall Street Journal that predicted 185,000 jobs would be added with a 3.8 percent unemployment rate.
“The labor market is the little engine that could, and it kept chugging away in January: 353,000 net new jobs is a strong start to the year, higher than the already impressive average monthly job gain of 255,000 for 2023,” said John Leer, chief economist at Morning Consult.
Additionally, wage growth went up as average hourly earnings increased 0.6%, which was double the monthly estimate. On a year-by-year basis, wages increased 4.5% well above the 4.1% predictions.
However, according to a recent survey conducted by Pew Research Center, a low 28 percent of Americans say the economy is in “excellent or good shape.” The largest share of Americans who rated the economy as good or excellent at 57% was in 2020 under former President Donald Trump.
Furthermore, Joe Biden’s current approval rating sits at a low 33%, according to a poll by Decision Desk HQ/The Hill this week.
Inflation remains one of the most crucial issues among voters in 2024 as the Federal Reserve held interest rates at just over 5 percent this week.
“I don’t think it’s likely that the committee will reach a level of confidence by the time of the March meeting,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at a news conference following the announcement.
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