January Job Report <br />Reveals Stronger-Than-<br />Expected Additions The U.S. economy added <br />225,000 non-farm payroll <br />jobs in January. The number greatly exceeded <br />Wall Street projections <br />of 158,000 added jobs. The significant additions are <br />due in part to an unusually <br />warm January, allowing for<br /> 44,000 construction jobs. The 2019 average of <br />monthly construction <br />job additions was 12,000. While the unemployment <br />rate raised to 3.6 percent, labor force <br />participation also ticked higher by 0.2 percent. Labor Force participation <br />reached 63.4 percent in January. The labor market indicator, <br />including discouraged workers <br />and those who take a part-time job to <br />make ends meet, also increased by 0.2 percent.
