Economics
What Shutdown? U.S. Jobs Likely Rose for Record 100th Month
- Underlying health of job market may be tougher to gauge
- Friday’s data seen showing low jobless rate, solid wage gains
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Hiring probably hit another milestone in January, notching a record 100th month of gains even as the lengthiest U.S. government shutdown weighed on other parts of the economy.
Payrolls grew by 165,000, still solid albeit less than December’s blockbuster surge of 312,000, while the unemployment rate held near the lowest since 1969 and wages continued rising at the fastest annual pace in almost a decade, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg. However, the data will likely contain more distortions than usual, making it harder to gauge the underlying health of the job market.