US job growth strong in January, Japan has US employment plan

Job growth in the United States surged more than expected in January. Employers added 227,000 workers. <br /><br /> But the unemployment rate rose from 4.7 percent to 4.8 percent of the workforce. <br /><br /> Wages increased only modestly, indicating there is not a shortage of available workers.<br /><br /> .BLS_gov releases January employment situation report. Read it here: https://t.co/iFGR6uizeK #JobsReport— US Labor Department (USDOL) February 3, 2017<br /><br /> The final employment figures under Barack Obama give President Trump a head start as he seeks to make good on his pledges.<br /><br /> On January 11 he said: “We are going to create jobs. I said that I will be the greatest jobs producer, that God ever created.”<br /><br /> Trump has promised to deliver annual GDP growth of 4 percent, but with the US economy near full employment, some economists are sceptical that can be achieved. <br /><br /> Japan investment plan<br /><br /> Trump may get some help from the Japanese.<br /><br /> Government sources in Tokyo said they were working on a plan to create 700,000 jobs in the US.<br /><br /> Prime Minister Shinzo Abe – who is due to meet Trump in Washington on February 10 – said at the end of January: “I hope to explain that Japan’s auto industry alone employs over one million people there, if you include suppliers and other support jobs.”<br /><br /> Defending Japan’s carmakers is just part of Abe’s blueprint to fend off US criticism of Japanese trade policy.<br /><br /> That plan, which is due to be shown to Trump during next week’s Washington summit, reportedly includes Japanese investments for $450 billion in infrastructure projects such as high-speed trains.<br /><br /> The package also includes cooperation in global infrastructure investment, joint development of robots and artificial intelligence, and cooperation in cybersecurity and space exploration, among others.<br />