According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the United States economy added 257,000 jobs in January. However, the unemployment rate went up slightly to 5.7%. The increased unemployment rate could be due to more people entering the job market due to the recent job market strength.
January added more jobs than expected and stock markets futures jumped on the report. There were also more jobs added in January than in December of 2014. 2014 was the strongest year for job growth since 1999.
Wages, which has been a top focus this year for Congress and the Obama Administration, rose by twelve cents per hour. While the job market has been making a recovery, wages have largely remained stagnant. This has been a major point of criticism for the Obama Administration as it seeks to tout the economic recovery.