The US economy created 227,000 jobs in January, shocking analysts who were preparing for a much lower figure.
The 227,000 non-farm payroll figure compares to that of 157,000 in December, which had been revised up slightly, and sits way above the 175,000 expected by Wall Street.
The growth was driven by job creation in the construction and retail sectors, both of which sharply increased their rate of hiring. However, the overall unemployment rate rose one-tenth of a percentage point to 4.8 percent and wages increased only modestly, suggesting that the US labour market still has room to improve.
The figures will come as a welcome surprise for new president Donald Trump, who has job creation firmly at the top of his agenda. He has vowed to create 25 million jobs over 10 years to become “the greatest jobs president… ever”.
US industries appear to have confidence in the new president, with both consumer and business confidence surging in the wake of Trump’s shock election victory last November. Trump has yet to clarify many of his policies but has set the goal of delivering 5 percent annual domestic growth for the US. Many see this as an impossible task, however, with annual GDP growth failing to exceed 2.6 percent since the 2008 crash.