The January 2022 Jobs Report shows that the U.S. economy created more jobs than expected according to the most recent report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). According to the report, payroll grew by 467,000. The number of unemployed persons is 6.5 million which is little changed in January. Prior to the pandemic in February 2020, the unemployment rate was 3.5%, with unemployed persons at 5.7 million.
Unemployment rate was little changed in January 2022 at 4.0%
Unemployment saw a very slight uptick to 4.0% from 3.9% in December 2021. College-degreed professionals 25 years and older saw a minor change in the unemployment rate to 2.3% from 2.1% the month prior. Job seekers with some college or an associate degree remained unchanged at 3.6%.
Leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, retail trade, and transportation and warehousing continued to see job growth gains
Jobs added by industry:
- Leisure and Hospitality 151,000 jobs added
- Professional and Business Services 86,000 jobs added
- Transportation and Warehousing 54,000 jobs added
- Retail Trade 61,000 jobs added
Specifically, temporary help services accounted for 26,000 new jobs added in professional and business services.
Wage growth grew in January 2022
Per the most recent BLS report, in January average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 23 cents to $31.63. January’s growth of 0.7% raised the annual increase to 5.7%.
