The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that the U.S. added 467,000 jobs in January, a report that far outpaced bleak projections by analysts who were concerned about the effect the omicron variant had on the economy last month.
CNBC reported on Wednesday that some projections showed the U.S. had lost as many as 400,000 jobs last month as the country saw record spread of COVID-19. The outlet reported that "consensus forecast" called for a gain of 150,000 jobs.
Friday's Bureau of Labor Statistics report noted that the unemployment rate was largely unchanged at 4%. December's jobs report indicated that the unemployment rate at that time was 3.9%.
While Friday's report was a good sign for the U.S. economy, Americans are still dealing with high rates of inflation, causing the prices of goods and services to skyrocket. Last week, the Federal Reserve noted that a key measure of prices had increased nearly 6% in the last year — the sharpest increase since 1982.
The Fed has already signaled that it plans to raise key interest rates in March in the hopes of curbing inflation.
In remarks from the White House on Friday, Biden touted his administration's job creation efforts during his first year in office.
"If you can't remember any year when so many people went to work in this country, there's a reason: it never happened," Biden said, noting his administration's single-year job growth.
