Employers hired workers at a swift pace in January after bulking up more than previously reported at the end of last year, reflecting an economy that is growing solidly in the face of the Omicron wave of Covid-19 and staffing shortages.
“The economic fallout from each successive wave of the pandemic has been smaller and smaller,”
Nick Bunker,
economist at jobs site Indeed, said in a note. “This trend, along with strong demand for workers suggests 2022 could be a year with continued strong gains for the labor market.”
January payrolls might been stronger if not for the surge in Omicron cases. Nearly two million workers were prevented from looking for a job due to the pandemic last month, the Labor Department said. And the number of Americans who said they were unable to work because their employer closed or lost business due to the…
