The resilience of the labor market in the face of rising interest rates and stubborn inflation continues to surprise economists. The U.S. economy added 517,000 jobs in January, pushing the unemployment rate to a 53-year low of just 3.4%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.
The figures were more than double economists’ estimates for 188,000 new jobs, and well above December’s gain of 260,000. On top of that, revisions to last year’s jobs data revealed employers added roughly 311,000 more jobs than previously estimated during the year.
