U.S. Adds Better-Than-Expected 227,000 Jobs

“U.S. employers hired briskly in January and more Americans joined the workforce, suggesting the labor market still has room to grow after years of expansion. Jobs outside of farms increased a seasonally adjusted 227,000 last month, the best gain since September,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Meanwhile, an increase in the share of Americans working or actively seeking work caused the unemployment rate to rise to 4.8% from 4.7% a month earlier. Economists predicted a gain of 174,000 jobs and a 4.7% jobless rate. The report also offered signs the labor market may not be as tight as thought.”