Payrolls surged by 467,000 in January, confounding economists

Job growth around the U.S. was robust in January with employers adding 467,000 new hires, surprising economists who had forecast that the COVID-19 wave caused by the Omicron variant would dampen payrolls.

The leisure and hospitality sector led the increase, adding 151,000 jobs in January, the U.S. Department of Labor said Friday. Professional and business services added 86,000 jobs, while retail added 61,000.

The unemployment rate ticked up to 4% as more people entered the workforce to look for jobs. In another positive sign for the labor market, the participation rate — a measure of people working or looking for jobs — rose to 62.2%.