Labor Force Rate Highest since March 2020
Manufacturing employment rose by 13,000 in January, and nonfarm payrolls increased a surprisingly strong 467,000, well above consensus estimates. The unemployment rate edged up from 3.9% to 4.0%, with the labor force participation rate rising from 61.9% to 62.2%, the best since March 2020. Average hourly earnings for production workers in manufacturing rose 5.2% year-over-year [...]