The government announced Friday that the unemployment rate has dropped to 4.7 percent in January, the lowest point since July 2001. Overall, 193,000 more jobs were added in January, a higher number than economists had expected.
According to the Labor Department, the unemployment rate is the lowest it has been since the September 11 attacks.
Wages continued to rise as well according to the Labor Department's report. The average hourly wage increased to $16.41, an increase of seven cents. Over the past year, the seasonably adjusted increase shows wages up 3.3 percent.
'There's no question we're getting back to better days for job creation,' Ken Mayland, economist at ClearView Economics told the Associated Press. 'There's been a sense of unease in the American workplace and this should help relieve that. The economy is getting on off to excellent start in 2006.'
The increase in wages is setting off fears of inflation in some economists however. Many experts believe the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates again when it meets on March 28.
