US adds 517,000 jobs in January in huge gain for labor market

Total is far higher than what economists expected even as Federal Reserve continues to raise interest rates to bring down inflation

The US job market added 517,000 jobs in January, a huge gain for the labor market even as the Federal Reserve has pushed up interest rates to bring down inflation and try to temper hiring.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate has held relatively steady at 3.4% - a 0.1% decrease compared with last month. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to rise slightly last month, but the rate still remains on par with what was seen before the pandemic. The rate is a 53-year low, according to Bloomberg.