Report via Center for American Progress – “On Friday, February 5, 2016 the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the employment report for the month of January. This month’s report will be an important indicator of whether the volatility in financial markets reflects underlying trends in the real economy—specifically, the labor market. With the financial world suddenly very concerned about a possible weakening economy, some perspective is useful: The labor market is economically healthier today than at any other point since the Great Recession. The national unemployment rate for the month of December remained at 5 percent, a record low in this recovery and half its peak of 10 percent in October 2009. And in the past year alone, the labor market has seen robust job growth at an average rate of about 229,000 new jobs per month. The flip side of the coin, however, shows that there is considerable room for growth in the labor market. This recovery has set records, yet the depth of the recession means that the labor market recovery is far from complete by historical standards. If this month’s stock market gyrations have relieved the pressure on the Federal Reserve to slow down the economy, the labor market is showing it’s capable of much more growth, even if there is more uncertainty in the air this month than we have seen over the past year.”