What's going on?

Data out on Friday showed that the US added far more jobs than expected last month, suggesting this post-apocalyptic wasteland has become that much more inhabitable.

What does this mean?

Picture the scene: a super-contagious virus is running riot, businesses are sitting empty, and pale-faced workers are staying indoors. This isn�t Netflix�s latest big-budget blockbuster: this is January in the US. So the country was bound to add fewer jobs than expected, surely.

Except, it didn�t. In fact, it added 467,000 jobs last month � three times the 150,000 economists were expecting. Plenty of that was down to the leisure and hospitality sector, but transportation and retail posted strong numbers too (tweet this). Plus, the proportion of people either in work or looking for it rose to 62.2% � the highest since March 2020, and just 1.2% below pre-pandemic levels.

Why should I care?

For you personally: You�re rich!
If you have an interview coming up, don�t be afraid to really throw your weight about: all this hiring means companies are paying more for the best and brightest, which might be why the average hourly salary was 5.7% higher last month than the same time last year. Now, it�s true that this will probably come back on you, since it�s only a matter of time before companies raise their prices to maintain their profits. But you�re a baller now, so who cares?

The bigger picture: Jobs don�t necessarily mean growth.
These job numbers suggest vaccinations are having the required effect, but the party-poopers over at Goldman Sachs don�t think we�re out the woods yet: its economists reckon Omicron could prolong supply shortages. They also think the drop-off in government spending and tax support will leave less cash in consumers� pockets and hit spending this year. That might be why the investment bank just cut its US economic growth forecast for 2022 from 3.8% to 3.2%.