WASHINGTON – U.S. employers added 151,000 jobs in January, a sharp deceleration from recent months as companies shed education, transportation and temporary workers.
The Labor Department said Friday that the jobs gains were still enough for the unemployment rate to fall to 4.9 percent from 5 percent. The January figures follow seasonally adjusted job growth of 262,000 in December and 280,000 in November.
The slowdown reflects an increasingly muddled picture for the U.S. economy. Global financial pressures and a volatile stock market have curtailed growth. But January’s jobs report appears to have further clouded the economic outlook as it showed that consumers are faring better despite steep declines in several industries.
Consumers appear to be resilient, even as sectors of the economy seemingly insulated from the slowdown in China, downturn in Brazil and fragility in Europe slipped.
Average wages jumped 2.5 percent over the past year to $25.39 an hour, evidence that the past years of job growth are helping to generate larger pay raises. The income growth meshes with retailers hiring a seasonally adjusted 57,700 workers. Restaurants and bars added 48,800 jobs in a sign of robust consumer demand.