Here are reactions to the January jobs data, which showed 304,000 new U.S. jobs created in the month, and the unemployment rate rising to 4%.

Read more about the jobs report from MarketWatch.

• Thomas Simons, senior money market economist at Jefferies LLC, called the report a “blowout” and noted January payrolls were nearly twice the consensus call. “This if offset by a surprising 90K DOWNWARD revision to the December payroll data from +312K to +222K, but still, this is an encouraging month amidst the government shutdown.”

• “Although partly offset by a downward revision to the December gain, the 304,000 surge in nonfarm payrolls in January provides further evidence that economic growth remains solid and that the government shutdown had little impact.” — Andrew Hunter, senior U.S. economist, Capital Economics.

• “The overall trend shows strong jobs growth, faster wage growth, and increased participation in the labor market. It is a strong statement against the threat of a downturn.” — Douglas Holtz-Eakin, American Action Forum president and former Congressional Budget Office director.

• “The only real negative from the release was the slight 0.1% monthly gain in wages, although even here past revisions meant that the annual rate, at 3.2%, was in line with the consensus view.” — Andrew Grantham, CIBC Economics.

• “Overall, today’s report provides latitude for a patient Fed approach, but it also suggests that the data-dependent and flexible Fed will likely keep a tightening bias in 2019.” — Oxford Economics analysts.

• AFL-CIO Chief Economist William Spriggs noted the report suggested some private contract workers got reduced hours, and weren’t laid off, during the recently ended government shutdown.

Spriggs also noted the impact of the shutdown on payrolls at museums and historical sites:

• “With 13,000 jobs created in January, manufacturing continues to stand out as one of the U.S. economy’s best storylines. This report shows that manufacturers are keeping their promise to hire more workers and raise wages in the wake of tax and regulatory reform. Additional action on key priorities, such as approving the USMCA, will give manufacturing the confidence and certainty it needs to continue the strong growth of the past two years.” — National Association of Manufacturers Chief Economist Chad Moutray.