Economic Recovery Leads To US Payroll Rise In January (CSCO, JPM)

For the second time in three months, the US economy is seen to have added jobs, which, according to economists, may be a sign that the growth in the economy is impacting the labor market positively.

December saw a fall in payrolls by 85,000. But payrolls rose by 15,000 in January. Unemployment is still in the range of 10 percent which is the highest in 25 years.

Companies like Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) are reported to be contemplating staff increases in the back of stimulus packages in the US, Europe and China too. “Businesses have gotten to very lean levels of staffing, so there’s not a lot of fat to cut,” said Michael Feroli, an economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) in New York, who is forecasting a payrolls gain of 20,000. Employment may grow “through the rest of the year,” he said.