Schizophrenic Job Market: Very Strong Payroll Growth But Modest Wages

The just-released Employment Situation Report from the Department of Labor for January 2023 reports an eye-opening 517,000 new payroll jobs. This is much higher than forecasts which predicted 200,000 or less.

Payroll growth was widespread across sectors of the economy, with the largest gains in leisure/hospitality (128,000) and professional services (82,000) – representing the lowest and highest skill groups in the labor market. But growth was very widespread across sectors.