According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) establishment survey, non-farm payroll employment rose at a blistering pace of 304,000 jobs in January—nearly double expectations of +158,000. In a less-positive move, combined November and December employment gains were revised down by 70,000 (December’s -90,000 was the largest monthly revision since 2010). Meanwhile, the unemployment rate (based upon the BLS’s household survey) ticked up to 4.0 percent under the influence of new/re-entrants to the labor force and impacts on private-sector employment stemming from the partial government shutdown.