Jobs Report Exceeds Expectations

Wage growth slowed down. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.1%, the lowest in 18 years. Most of the gains last month were in the construction and retail sectors. Economists had estimate the economy gained 205,000 nonfarm payrolls last month and the unemployment rate fell to 4%, the lowest since July 2000, according to Bloomberg. In January, average hourly earnings were initially reported at a year-on-year pace that had not been seen since the Great Recession.