U.S. Job Growth Soars in January While Wages See Largest Jump Since Recession
• U.S. added 353K jobs in January, far surpassing economist forecasts of 180K and December's 333K (revised up from 216K) • Unemployment rate held steady at 3.7%, versus expectations for a rise to 3.8% • Average hourly earnings rose 0.6% in January, double expectations of 0.3% and higher than December's 0.4% • On a year-over-year basis, average hourly earnings up 4.5% versus 4.1% expected and 4.4% previously • News sent markets lower - Nasdaq futures now up 0.5% versus over 1% gain previously; S&P futures now up just 0.2% versus nearly 1% earlier