for unemployment data in both november and december during a covid spike and this huge greater than expected january jobs report. our country is taking everything that covid can throw at it s and we come back stronger. i m pleased to report this morning, many of you already know, that america s job machine is going stronger than ever. really a strong recovery and opportunity for hard working women and men all across this great country. america is back to work. 467,000 jobs were added last month. the biggest gain is in leisure and hospitality. people are vacationing, dining and drinking despite covid fears and that is driving hiring. 6.6 million jobs for biden s first year in office. unemployment ticked up slightly to 4%. that s largely because of labor force participation growing since february 22. climbing to 6.2% and wages climbed to 5.7% in january from the previous year. that s nearly double the prepandemic average. a lot of those gains in wages have been eroded by hi