07.02.202012:39:00UTC+00U.S. Employment Jumps More Than Expected In January

A closely watched report released by the Labor Department on Friday showed employment in the U.S. increased by more than expected in the month of January.

The Labor Department said employment jumped by 225,000 jobs in January following a revised increase of 147,000 jobs in December.

Economists had expected employment to rise by 160,000 jobs compared to the addition of 145,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

Despite the stronger than expected job growth, the unemployment rate inched up to 3.6 percent in January from 3.5 percent in December. Economists had expected the employment rate to remain unchanged.