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The country's Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed the number of jobs filled in January rose 243,000, beating forecasts of 150,000 published by Reuters and 140,000 reported by Bloomberg.
Furthermore, the unemployment rate fell to a near three-year low of 8.3 per cent, which Wells Fargo Securities chief economist John Silvia was quoted by Bloomberg as saying "has to be very, very positive from the Fed's [Federal Reserve] point of view".
The markets seemed to respond well to the publication of the numbers, with the FTSE rising 1.7 per cent to 5,896.18 points by 15:17 GMT and US indices the Dow Jones, Nasdaq and S&P 500 adding one per cent, 1.3 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively.
However, chief economic strategist at Miller Tabak & Co Andrew Wilkinson was quoted by Reuters as saying the news may not suggest the nation's central bank will necessarily be more upbeat about the world's largest economy.
"Certainly the Fed will welcome it, but they remain worried about other areas of the economy, namely housing. This should not change its view on the economy," he stated.
Posted by Greg Secker
