“Certainly, the economy has slowed, and that will undoubtedly be apparent in other data in the coming weeks. Still, the jobs market remains a bright spot,” said Jim Baird, chief investment officer for Plante Moran Financial Advisors. “Employers are still hiring at a strong pace. That’s good news for the consumer sector, and ultimately good news for the economy.”
Wage Growth Languishes
Despite the strong rise in payrolls, average hourly earnings ticked higher by just 3 cents during January, which represented a rise of 0.1 percent–below the 0.3 percent expected. Nonetheless, this was still a 3.2 percent year-over-year increase.
Nonetheless, economists still emphasize the labor market is robust.
“Despite the uncertainty heading into today about how the recent federal government shutdown may impact the economy, today’s jobs report shows the nation’s labor market overall remained healthy in January, and employers are likely to continue today’s steady pace of hiring throughout the first half of 2019,” said Andrew Chamberlain, the chief economist at the career site Glassdoor.
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