Job creation continued along at a steady pace to begin 2013, as U.S. companies added 157,000 employees to their payrolls in January. The increase was roughly in line with consensus expectations, and continues to reflect a cautiously improving economy. The unemployment rate edged up slightly to 7.9%, and has remained virtually unchanged at just below 8% since September 2012.

Other highlights reported in our latest U.S. Talent Market Monthly are:

- A steadily recovering U.S. economy generated moderate employment gains in January and the unemployment rate continued to hover just below 8%.
- However, annual revisions to employment data suggest that the U.S. labor market’s performance in 2012 was stronger than initially reported.
- The U.S. added an average of 180,000 jobs per month in 2012—the best job creation rate in seven years—but the pace of the recovery remains slow.

Job gains in January were led by retail trade (+33,000) and healthcare (+23,000); these two sectors have each created an average of 30,000 jobs per month over the last six months. Construction employment also increased in January (+28,000), following three solid months of job creation at the end of 2012 as the housing market recovery continues to gain momentum.

Although the headline figures in January suggest a labor market that continues to move on a steady but unremarkable path, annual benchmark revisions to the past year’s employment figures revealed a much stronger job market throughout 2012 than previously indicated.