Good News

175k new [non-farming] jobs per payroll reporting were expected in January, 2017.  But 227k were reported.  4.8% is the current US unemployment rate.

Nov and Dec 2016 numbers were revised downward by 37k.

(source: Forbes & CNBC)

Wage growth is reported as flat.  From a personal standpoint, I can say that my compensation is about the same as it was in 1999.  As an IT consultant, it has seen plenty of ups and downs.

While the jobs numbers are good news for this reporting cycle, remember that such things always eventually swing the other way.  TradingEconomics.com reports an historical low unemployment rate of 2.5%, and a high of 10.8%.

What it means

As an optimist, my outlook is positive.  With evolving technology in energy, electronics, communications, robotics, medical, etc., there will be increasing demand for skilled workers in these fields as well as the ones that are impacted (such as travel, construction,  security, sales, healthcare, and anythings else you can think of).  So, the implications for you are to get prepared.  Keep in touch with the news, and study and learn about these technologies.  The modern workplace is changing faster than ever, and so the modern workforce must do the same!

– Stephen