The U.S. Adds 243,000 Jobs in January

Jobs are on the rise again!  The U.S. Department of Labor announced that the U.S. added 243,000 jobs in January, lowering the national unemployment rate to 8.3%.  This is the second month in a row that the job market performed better than economists’ predictions.  In fact, this is the largest jobs increase the U.S. has seen since May 2010!  Although the government is still cutting jobs, the private sector added 257,000.  Within the private sector, manufacturing contributed 50,000 new positions, while the professional services industry added 176,000.  Jobs in healthcare also increased, up by 30,900 workers, and accounting jobs were up by 12,500.  Unfortunately, both the finance and Information sectors lost workers—the majority of which were connected to the film and recording industry.  Interestingly enough, the Monster Employment Index, which monitors the number of job postings online, has been consistently declining since October.  Perhaps these new figures will reignite employers’ confidence, and we will see more recruiting efforts in the near future!