The U.S. economy added 227,000 jobs in January, and the unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.8 percent as more people entered the labor force, according to the January jobs report published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The January jobs report is undoubtedly a strong one, showing strong wage growth and broad-based gains across a number of important sectors, including construction, health care and financial and technical services. The reason for the slight uptick in the headline unemployment rate is attributable to more people participating in the labor force, another positive sign. Widespread gains in construction bode well for the housing industry in advance of the busy home shopping season to come, though growth in construction employment continues to be driven more by the multifamily and remodeling segments rather than single-family homes. But despite the general strength of the jobs market in January, a peak beneath some of the headline numbers reveals some areas for improvement. While overall retail employment was up, employment at department stores, in particular — a key sub-sector — was down year-over-year and looks likely to continue falling as major chains like Macys and Wal-Mart shutter stores and shed workers. The clerks and cashiers likely to be impacted by these closures make up a large share of all retail employees, and tens of thousands of them are the primary breadwinners in their households, so it will be critical to ensure these workers can find positions elsewhere as the economy keeps chugging along.
