The Bureau of Labor Statistics released figures this morning that show 257,000 new jobs were added to the U.S. economy in January. The gains are slightly less than December (329,000 jobs) and November (a 17-year high of 423,000), but on average the job market grew by a better-than-expected 336,000 per month over the last three months.

Jobs were added to retail trade, construction, health care, finance, and manufacturing. In the same period, wages reached a six-year high increase. The BLS figures showed that hourly wages shot up by 12 cents in January, highlighting a 2.2 per cent over the course of the year.

The recent economic growth has coincided with a decade-low drop in gas prices, which economists say has held down inflation (which rose just less than 1 percent in 2014) and boosted Americans’ spending power. This morning, investors reportedly responded to the surprising job growth figures by selling off US Treasury bonds, resulting in increased yields.