U.S. nonfarm payrolls increase more than forecast in January

The U.S. Labor Department announced on Friday that nonfarm payrolls increased by 255,000 in January after an upwardly revised 147,000 gain in the prior month (originally an increase of 145,000).

According to the report, significant job gains in January occurred in construction (+44,000 jobs), in health care (+36,000), and in transportation and warehousing (+28,000).

The unemployment rate rose to 3.6 percent in January from 3.5 percent in December.

Economists had forecast 160,000 new jobs and the jobless rate to stay at 3.5 percent.

The labor force participation rate rose to 63.4 percent in January from 63.2 in the previous month, while hourly earnings for private-sector workers edged up 0.2 percent m-o-m (+7 cents) to $28.44, following an unrevised 0.1 percent m-o-m gain in December. Economists had forecast a 0.3 percent m-o-m advance in the average hourly earnings. Over the year, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.1 percent, following a revised 3.0 percent rise in December (originally a gain of 2.9 percent).

The average workweek was unchanged at 34.3 hours in January matching economists' forecast.