Jan 31 Nonfarm Payrolls: 6.5M Jobs, Lowest in Over 5 Years

The U.S. nonfarm payrolls for January 31 showed job gains of 6.5 million, the lowest in over five years, signaling continued weakness in the labor market. The figure contrasts with December's 2018-level gains and comes as the Federal Reserve weighs further rate hikes amid soft labor data. The unemployment rate remained at 3.7% as of January 31, with average weekly hours up by 17.5 hours, seasonally adjusted.