2023.02.0312:37:00UTC+00U.S. Employment Spikes Much More Than Expected In January

Job growth in the U.S. unexpectedly showed a substantial acceleration in the month of January, according to a closely watched report released by the Labor Department on Friday.

The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment soared by 517,000 jobs in January after surging by an upwardly revised 260,000 jobs in December.

Economists had expected employment to increase by 185,000 jobs compared to the addition of 223,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

The report also said the unemployment rate edged down to 3.4 percent in January from 3.5 percent in December. The dip surprised economists, who had expected the unemployment rate to inch up to 3.6 percent.