The Labor Department said Friday that the economy added 476,000 jobs in January. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected an addition of just 150,000 jobs, with some Wall Street pros projecting net jobs losses for the month due to the omicron variant surge.
The jobs report comes as the Federal Reserve has signaled it will hike its benchmark interest rate multiple times this year, likely starting in March.
“As the Fed expressed that they were satisfied with employment trends, the strong January’s jobs report most likely cemented plans to raise rates and end quantitative easing. We will continue to keep an eye on the elements that could influence the Fed in coming months,” Steve Rick, chief economist at CUNA Mutual Group, said in a note.
Market expectations for rate hikes have been increasing quickly since the start of the year.