WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s employers added a robust 517,000 jobs in January, a surprisingly strong gain in the face of the Federal Reserve’s aggressive drive to slow growth and tame inflation with higher interest rates. Though good for workers, employers’ steady demand for labor has also helped accelerate wage growth and contributed to high inflation. A tight job market tends to put upward pressure on wages, which, in turn, feed into inflation. The Fed, hoping to cool the job market and the economy — and, as a consequence, inflation — has steadily raised borrowing rates, most recently on Wednesday. That figure is a proxy for layoffs, one that economists monitor for clues about where the job market might be headed.

Source: Huffington Post February 03, 2023 20:23 UTC