The U.S. economy added 243,000 jobs in January — the fastest growth since April, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The unemployment rate fell by two-tenths of a percentage point to 8.3%, the lowest it has been since February 2009. Economists had forecast a gain of 125,000 in payrolls and for the jobless rate to remain at 8.5%.
Steve Benen: “After years of jobs reports that were only considered encouraging when compared to where we’ve been, January’s totals is objectively good news. Indeed, this is one of the best — if not the very best — jobs reports since the recession began four years ago.”
Ezra Klein: “The bottom line is that this isn’t just a good jobs report. It’s a recovery jobs report. It’s showing the sort of numbers that win elections.”