The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has released data on “nonfarm payrolls.” The data revealed that it added 517,000 jobs in the US for January.
That number is higher than the 223,000 jobs reported in December, but well above the 187,000 economists had expected. Unemployment rate was announced as 3.4%. This represents the lowest unemployment level since May 1969.
Despite the layoffs across the US, the unemployment rate fell. In addition, higher-than-expected increases were recorded in January. The developments, on the other hand, increased the estimations that the Federal Reserve may not be slowing down enough to give up its aggressive campaign to rein in inflation.
These data came in above expectations, largely due to the growth in many sectors. The entertainment and accommodation sector took the lead among all other sectors with an employment increase of 128,000 people. Professional and business services (82,000), government (74,000), and healthcare (58,000) were other major earning sectors. It was also reported that this month’s wage increase was significantly higher, as average hourly earnings growth was 0.3%, in line with forecasts.
How Did The Crypto Market React To The Data From The US Front?
Following the announcement of unemployment news bitcoin (BTC) price remained unchanged at $23,353. However, overall the market registered a slight decline. This represents a 0.61% drop over the past hour, as opposed to a 2% jump over the past seven days.
Both stocks and crypto markets were bullish earlier this week after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell announced at his post-FOMC press conference that “the disinflationary process has begun”. But the strong employment numbers released this morning may dampen investors’ hopes that the Fed will delay rate hikes or consider a rate cut later in 2023 if the US employment situation deteriorates significantly.