If the labor market can handle Omicron, what can’t it handle?
The Labor Department on Friday reported that the U.S. economy added a seasonally adjusted 467,000 jobs last month—far more than the 150,000 economists were expecting. There were substantial upward revisions, to the tune of 709,000 additional jobs, to the previous two months’ employment tally. The unemployment rate, which is based on a separate survey from the jobs number, rose slightly to 4% from 3.9%, but this came about because updated estimates from the Labor Department found a greater share of the population was employed or looking for work.
The January job gain is especially striking given that the midmonth pay period the Labor Department based its employment figures on came precisely when the Omicron-fueled surge in Covid-19 cases was at its worst. People went…
