WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. employment gains slowed more than expected in January as the boost to hiring from unseasonably mild weather faded, but rising wages and an unemployment rate at an eight-year low suggested the labor market recovery remains firm.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 151,000 jobs and the unemployment rate slipped one-tenth of a percentage point to 4.9 percent, the lowest since February 2008, the Labor Department said on Friday. The payrolls gain was a sharp step-down from the average 231,000 jobs per month during the fourth quarter.
“The fact that payroll gains fell back to earth is not necessarily a bad sign. Most indications are that the job market in the U.S. is on solid footing and improving,” said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS in Lexington, Massachusetts.
Economists had forecast employment increasing by 190,000 in January and the jobless rate steady at 5 percent.
