The economy is great ; vote Democrat

US Labor Market Sizzles The US economy added 353,000 nonfarm jobs in January, exceeding economist estimates of 185,000 jobs and up from December's upwardly revised 333,000 jobs, according to government data released yesterday. The unemployment rate held steady at 3.7% for the third consecutive month (see chart).

The latest jobs report comes after the Federal Reserve this week continued to keep its benchmark federal-funds rate (see 101) at a range between 5.25% and 5.5%. The Fed's decision marks the fourth straight meeting in which the central bank has opted to hold rates at the highest level in more than two decades. The Fed tentatively plans to lower rates three times this year, though Chairman Jerome Powell said a rate cut is unlikely to come by the group's next meeting in March. The core personal consumption expenditures price index—the Fed's preferred inflation gauge—rose to 2.9% year-over-year in December; the Fed is targeting a 2% annual rate. Most of the jobs in January were added in professional and business services (74,000), healthcare (70,000), and retail trade (45,000). Average hourly earnings grew 4.5% year-over-year in January, up from 4.1% in December. See data here.