Analysis: A Reality Check of the Jobs Report

News Analysis According to the Employment Situation report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Feb. 2, the U.S. economy exceeded expectations by adding 353,000 jobs to the workforce in January. The unemployment rate remained steady at 3.7 percent. While the report and the White House suggest that the labor market is strong, the American public remains dissatisfied with the state of the nation’s economy. Following the release of the report, the White House said in a statement on Feb. 2, “Let’s face it: the job market, along with the rest of the U.S. economy, has been defying expectations for a while now,” adding, “This upside surprise is largely consistent with a wide variety of recent indicators” and that “January’s 353,000 jobs number comes on the heels of an upwardly revised gain of 333,000 for December.”...