U.S LABOUR MARKET DATA

The first look at the US labour market in January should go someway to allaying fears that the economy is losing momentum.

The world’s largest economy created 175,000 jobs last month, according to a survey from ADP Research. That’s weaker than the 185,000 forecast and down from 238,000 in December.

But given the bout of cold weather that swept across the US in January and a weak official reading of job creation in December, it should provide some relief.

The survey comes 48 hours before the release of the official figures, which economists currently forecast will show that 184,000 Americans found jobs.

The health of the labour market remains central to how quickly the Federal Reserve begins to reverse its multi-trillion bond buying programme.

It’s a backdrop that has sharpened the focus on the ADP survey, whose tallies of monthly job creation have historically overstated the official surveys from the US Bureau of Labor.

In December, for example, the ADP survey said 238,000 jobs had been created, while the officially total was a much weaker 74,000.