Employment in the U.S. has now increased for the past 100 months in a row. Americans created 304,000 new jobs in January, while the unemployment rate increased slightly to 4.0 percent.

“Congratulations to the Americans! The U.S. jobs report rounds an impressive milestone with continuous job growth for 100 months. The record was achieved despite 34 days of partial shutdown of the US government, as a result of Trump's demand for a border wall,” says Allan Sørensen, Senior Analyst at the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI).

“The Employment Situation Summary shows that the U.S. economy is still going well in 2019. However, there are still some unresolved issues that can slow down the growth. A new shutdown of the US government is already threatening to take place from 15 February and the trade war with the Chinese can flare up again in March,” says Allan Sørensen.

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The US economy grew by almost 3 percent last year, but is expected to fall to 2.5 percent in 2019.

“American consumers and business are optimistic about the future, although the mood has dropped slightly over the past months. The central bank has also become a little more hesitant in its announcements about the prospect of interest-rate hikes in 2019,” says Allan Sørensen.

The Employment Situation Summary shows that hourly rates have increased by 3.2 percent over the past year. 

“More employment and higher wages increase consumption and together with a relatively strong dollar, Danish companies have great opportunities to get a bigger bite from the US market,” says Allan Sørensen, Senior Analyst at the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI).

Last year Americans purchased Danish goods and services worth nearly DKK 130 billion. This makes the U.S. Denmark’s second-biggest export market, surpassed only by Germany.

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