Jobs are up. Unemployment is up. Labor force participation is the same. And Hefty Downward Revisions for January
This morning’s jobs report provides economists with a challenging puzzle of mixed results, with jobs created well above expectations at 275,000 (200,000 expected), while unemployment also rose from 3.6% to 3.9%, yet labor force participation stayed the same. Buried deep in the report was the downward revision by 35% of the January jobs numbers, from 353,000 to 229,000.
“That’s a massive revision from the previous month, and it basically erases the jobs euphoria from January,” said RedBalloon CEO Andrew Crapuchettes. “If your CPA made a 35% revenue error month-to-month, you’d fire them.”
“But the adjusted numbers make more sense when looking at our Freedom Economy survey from January, where employers said they put expansion hiring on hold, and were only hiring to fill existing vacancies,” continued Crapuchettes. “Today’s numbers are a mixed bag, and we will all likely need to wait for more clarity from next month’s expected revisions to truly understand this market’s direction.”
Founded In 2021, RedBalloon has quickly become America’s largest woke-free job board, connecting employers and employees who prioritize a positive workplace culture free from the divisiveness of cancel-culture mandates.