WASHINGTON — In a long-awaited surge of hiring, companies added 243,000 jobs in January — across the economy, up and down the pay scale and far more than just about anyone expected. Unemployment fell to 8.3 percent, the lowest in three years.
The job growth was the fastest since last March and April. Before that, the last month with stronger hiring, excluding months skewed by temporary census jobs, was March 2006.
The unemployment rate came down by two notches from December. It has fallen five months in a row.
The report Friday from the Labor Department seemed to reinforce that the nation is entering a virtuous cycle, a reinforcing loop in which stronger hiring leads to more consumer spending, which leads to even more hiring and spending. Some economists, however, cautioned that headwinds remain and could slow growth later this year. Broomfield economist Gary Horvath said the report may not be a true sign of an upward jobs trend.
“We’ve had situations where we’ve had a good bump in job numbers before but it turned out to be an anomaly,” Horvath said. A true recovery would require 225,000 additional jobs added each month on a sustained level, he said. In 2011, it was averaging 130,000 to 145,000, though growth was stronger in the final six months of 2011, he said.
“I think the housing market is problematic. Construction is not coming back on a timely basis, and there is the debt situation in Europe,” Horvath said.
“Hopefully, this means we are going in a positive direction.”
The jobs report reverberated through the presidential campaign and could improve President Barack Obama’s re-election prospects. The drop in the unemployment rate put it exactly where it was in February 2009, the month after Obama took office.
Unemployment was 6.8 percent when Obama was elected, 7.8 percent when he was sworn in and 10 percent, its recent peak, nine months later.
The job gains in January were widespread:
B The professional services category, which includes high-paying jobs like architects, accountants and engineers, added 70,000 jobs, the most in 10 months. The category also includes temporary workers.
B Manufacturing added 50,000 jobs, the most in a year, and the beleaguered construction industry added 21,000, its second straight month of strong gains. Construction added 31,000 jobs in December. Both months were probably helped by the warm winter.
B The leisure and hospitality industry, which includes restaurants and hotels, added 44,000 jobs. Retailers added 10,500.
Denver Post staff writer Howard Pankratz contributed to this report.
