In a big surprise, the job market surged in January even as omicron cases spiked

https://www.npr.org/2022/02/04/ [login to see] /employers-economy-jobs-labor-market-january-omicron
The nation's jobs recovery picked up steam last month despite a spike in new coronavirus infections.

U.S. employers added 467,000 jobs in January, according to a new tally from the Labor Department. That's much better than forecasters were expecting, although it marks a slowdown from December, when revised figures show the country gained 510,000 jobs. Job gains for November were also revised upward.

The unemployment rate rose modestly in January to 4%, from 3.9% in December.

Hiring might have been even stronger last month, were it not for the fresh wave of infections tied to the omicron variant, which dented employers' demand for labor and kept many would-be workers on the sidelines.

The monthly job count was conducted around the second week of January, just as omicron cases were nearing their peak. Daily infections at the time were nearly seven times as high as they were when jobs were tallied in December.