US Gains +304,000 Jobs in Jan. Unemployment - 4%

Government shutdown lifts unemployment rate to 4% from 3.9%

The numbers: The U.S. gained 304,000 new jobs in January — the biggest increase in almost a year — in another show of strength for an economy that’s still growing soundly even in the face of more headwinds.

Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a modest gain of 172,000 nonfarm jobs, but mainly because hiring in December had seemed so strong.

Instead the government slashed its original estimate of new jobs in December to 222,000 from 312,000 as part of an annual update based on newly available information. That’s the largest monthly revision since 2010.

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