The US added 49,000 jobs in January, missing the estimate for 105,000 additions.
The gains also mark a reversal from December's revised decline of 227,000 payrolls. That report had snapped a seven-month streak of gains and signaled a dire hit to the country's economic recovery. About 14.8 million Americans said the pandemic was the primary reason why their employer halted operations. That's down from 15.8 million people the month prior.
The proportion of Americans telecommuting because of the pandemic slid 0.5 points to 23.2% in January.JPMorgan's market-moving quant guru lays out an under-the-radar risk that could spring up during the pandemic recovery and snowball into a full-blown crisis across the western worldAfter months of soaring COVID-19 cases and harsh economic lockdowns, signs are pointing to a healthier backdrop to come. Vaccine distribution has overcome early hurdles and the US is now administering 1.
Continuing claims, which track Americans receiving unemployment benefits, fell to 4.6. million, similarly beating the economist forecast of 4.7 million claims.
All government jobs