America's employers added a robust 517,000 jobs in January, greatly defying expectations.

The report, released Friday, shows a surprisingly strong gain in the face of the Federal Reserve's aggressive drive to slow growth and tame inflation with higher interest rates.

The unemployment rate dipped to 3.4%, the lowest such figure since 1969.

In a speech Friday, Biden cheered the promising news and touted the report as evidence that his economic plan is working.

"Today I'm happy to report at the state of the union and the state of our economy is strong," Biden said, calling the period since he took office "the strongest two years of job growth in history by a long shot."

"While we may face setbacks along the way, our plan is working because of the grit and resolve of the American worker," Biden added. "We're lowering costs for prescription drugs, clean energy. We'll keep seeing shovels hitting the ground to rebuild our infrastructure in communities across the country, we'll see a sense of pride coming back."

Friday's government report added to the picture of a resilient labor market, with low unemployment, relatively few layoffs and many job openings even as most economists foresee a recession nearing. Though good for workers, employers' steady demand for labor has also helped accelerate wage growth and contributed to high inflation.

Biden on Friday pointed to the fact that inflation has fallen for six months, partly driven by lower gas prices. 

Asked whether he's to blame for higher costs, the president said: "It was already there when I got here, man."

"Jobs were hemorrhaging. Inflation was rising. We weren't manufacturing a damn thing here. We were in real economic difficulty," he said.

January's job growth, which far exceeded December's 269,000 gain, could raise doubts about whether inflation pressures will ease further in the months ahead. The Fed has raised its key rate eight times since March to try to contain inflation, which hit a four-decade high last year but has slowed since then.

Companies are still seeking more workers and are hanging tightly onto the ones they have. Putting aside some high-profile layoffs at big tech companies like Microsoft, Google, Amazon and others, most workers are enjoying an unusual level of job security even at a time when many economists foresee a recession approaching.

For all of 2022, the economy had added a sizzling average of 375,000 jobs a month. That was a pace vigorous enough to have contributed to the painful inflation Americans have endured, the worst such bout in 40 years. A tight job market tends to put upward pressure on wages, which, in turn, feed into inflation.

The Fed, hoping to cool the job market and the economy — and, as a consequence, inflation — has steadily raised borrowing rates, most recently on Wednesday. Year-over-year measures of consumer inflation have steadily eased since peaking at 9.1% in June. But at 6.5% in December, inflation remains far above the Fed's 2% target, which is why the central bank's policymakers have reiterated their intent to keep raising borrowing rates for at least a few more months.

The Fed is aiming to achieve a "soft landing" — a pullback in the economy that is just enough to tame high inflation without triggering a recession. The policymakers hope that employers can slow wage increases and inflationary pressures by reducing job openings but not necessarily by laying off many employees.

But the job market's resilience isn't making that hoped-for outcome any easier. On Wednesday, the Labor Department reported that employers posted 11 million job openings in December, an unexpected jump from 10.4 million in November and the largest number since July. There are now about two job vacancies, on average, for every unemployed American.

"There are certain areas of people who aren't participating in the workforce," Labor Secretary Marty Walsh told Spectrum News on Friday. "A lot of women are still not in the workforce because of childcare. People are still concerned about COVID-19 and their health."

The Labor Department's monthly count of layoffs has amounted to fewer than 1.5 million for 21 straight months. Until 2021, that figure had never dropped so low in records dating back two decades.

Yet another sign that workers are benefiting from unusual job security is the weekly number of people who apply for unemployment benefits. That figure is a proxy for layoffs, one that economists monitor for clues about where the job market might be headed. The government said Thursday that the number of jobless claims fell last week to its lowest level since April.

The pace of applications for unemployment aid has remained rock-bottom despite a steady stream of headline-making layoff announcements. Facebook parent Meta is cutting 11,000 jobs, Amazon 18,000, Microsoft 10,000, Google 12,000. Some economists suspect that many laid-off workers might not be showing up at the unemployment line because they can still find new jobs easily.

Sec. Walsh on Friday said the U.S. would have to "wait and see" if those layoffs are a long-term issue.

"Some of those folks immediately found jobs. The tech sector took a lot of jobs away from, tech jobs away from, other companies," he explained.

Biden added in his speech that he has always doubted a recession is on the way, pointing to gains made in domestic manufacturing.

"What I've always known in my gut is critics and cynics are wrong," he said. "Our plan is working because of the grit and resolve of the American worker."