UPDATE - US adds 353,000 jobs in January, much higher than estimates of 187,000

ADDS COMMENTS OF PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - The US economy added 353,000 jobs in January, much higher than market estimates, the Labor Department announced on Friday.

The market expectation for nonfarm payrolls was to show a gain of 187,000 last month.

Job additions for December 2023, meanwhile, were significantly revised up by 117,000 from 216,000 to 333,000, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The unemployment rate, however, remained unchanged at 3.7% in January for the third consecutive month, compared to the previous month.

The market estimate for the figure was to come in at 3.8%.

Also, the number of unemployed people remained mostly unchanged at 6.1 million, according to the Labor Department.

President Joe Biden said the jobs figures provide "more proof" that wage gains and employment remain strong.

"Our economy has created 14.8 million jobs since I took office, unemployment has been under 4% for two full years now, and inflation has been at the pre-pandemic level of 2% over the last half year," he said in a statement released by the White House.

"It’s great news for working families that wages, wealth, and jobs are higher now than before the pandemic, and I won’t stop fighting to lower costs and build an economy from the middle out and bottom up," he added.