January saw the continuation of the longest federal government shutdown in history, before lawmakers agreed on a stopgap spending bill to fund the government through to February 15^th. While the Jobs Report 800,000 government employees were furloughed or working without pay, there was fear that the shutdown would have a knock-on effect on the wider economy.

While the monetary impact was significant, taking up to $3 billion of irrecoverable growth from the economy, the wider job market was largely unaffected. In fact, January revealed some surprising numbers which can be seen in the latest Jobs Report.

Unemployment Rises but Jobs Report Growth is Strong

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), hiring growth was unexpectedly strong in January, with 304,000 jobs created during the month. This was a milestone for the United States, being the 100^th consecutive month where the number of jobs grew.

Unemployment did increase slightly, but part of this can be attributed to furloughed government workers who were not counted as being employed by the BLS survey. The unemployment rate increased from 3.9 percent to 4 percent in January.

Wages were also up when looking at the data year over year. Compared to January 2018, wages have increased by 3.2 percent.

This is incredibly good news as it indicates that the economy is still growing, even if the rate is slowing overall. The fact that employers are willing to pay more is also an indication of economic strength. Job seekers now have a better and more competitive market, with more employment options.

Industries with Strong Growth

When breaking the figures down, it’s clear that some industries are driving first quarter job growth more than others.

Hospitality and Leisure industries added 74,000 jobs in January, Healthcare added 45,000, and Construction contributed 52,000. These three industries alone made up 56 percent of total job growth for the reporting period.

Shows the Resilience of the American Economy

The shutdown had a negative impact on economic growth, but the bulk of the loss is expected to be made up in the second quarter of this year. It was feared that job growth would take a hit, however, impressive results prove that the current economy is extremely resilient.

This news will be a relief for job seekers, politicians, and for investment markets throughout the first quarter of this year.