More than half of that came from an increase of 145,000 jobs in construction, aided by mild weather during the month. That marked a rebound after unusually harsh weather in November and December resulted in huge layoffs. The services industry added 81,000 jobs in January, even though temporary-help firms cut employment by 39,000. Hospitals and doctors' offices reported solid gains. So did real estate firms and mortgage bankers, showing the strength in the housing sector, where cheaper mortgage rates have helped the industry stay healthy during the slowdown.
More layoffs are on the way.
DaimlerChrysler announced this week it was cutting payrolls by 26,000. Another report Friday showed that factory orders rose 1.1 percent in December, reflecting a big jump in demand for airplanes and other transportation equipment that masked weakness elsewhere. Excluding transportation, orders fell 0.8 percent to the lowest level since April, the Commerce Department said. Shipments, a barometer of current production, fell by 0.2 percent, the fourth straight monthly decline. Overall economic growth slowed to an annual rate of just 1.4 percent in the fourth quarter, the weakest performance in more than five years.