Nationwide employment rose by 257,000 for January, according to a Feb. 6 report. by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The consumer confidence index, a measure of consumer optimism in the economy, also grew in February, according to Nielsen. The index rose from 93.1 in December 2014 to 102.9 in January, the highest level since August 2007, according to the Nielsen report.
In addition to overall consumer confidence, specific portions of consumer confidence in business, labor market, earnings and short-term economic conditions all increased from December to January as well.
The index is compiled by the Nielsen Conference Board and is generally accepted as an accurate measure of economic expectations.
Higher consumer confidence correlates with increased consumer spending, which contributes to higher economic growth rates.
The employment situation also appeared promising for the first month of the year.
Despite the increase in the total number of employed individuals, the unemployment rate showed little change, staying at 5.7 percent, as did the total number of unemployed at 9 million.
The unemployment rate has remained relatively consistent since October 2014.
The increase in employment did not decrease the unemployment rate because the labor force participation rate, defined as the proportion of able-bodied adults ?actively seeking work in the last four weeks, rose by 703,000 in January.
This increased the labor force participation rate to 62.9 percent, an increase of ?.2 percent.
Though the unemployment rate represents all those who are looking for work and cannot find it, the labor force participation rate measures how many adults in the U.S. choose to look for work and includes the category of ?discouraged workers.
Discouraged workers are defined as those who want to work and have searched for work in the last six months but have stopped actively looking for work because they believe no jobs are available. These workers are not counted in the unemployment rate.
Because of this, an increase in total jobs and the labor force participation rate, coupled with a constant ?unemployment rate, is a ?positive economic sign.
The number of long-term unemployed, those not holding a job for 27 weeks or more, remained unchanged.
The retail, construction, health care, financial and manufacturing sectors were the main contributors to the job growth, according to the report.
Retail contributed 46,000 jobs, health care 38,000 jobs, financial 26,000 jobs and construction 22,000 jobs during the course of the month, ?according to the report.
The full employment report can be accessed at the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ website under the employment and unemployment section of economic releases. The consumer confidence report can be accessed at www.confidence-board.org under the view data and analysis section.
