The White House's Economic Advisor Brian Deese told CNBC on Friday that the U.S. employment report for January "could look a little strange", as its results could be skewed by effects of an Omicron-driven surge in coronavirus cases early this month.
According to Deese, the way the U.S. Labor Department collects jobs data may show a higher number of unemployed people, as people, who were on sick leave related to the Omicron strain in early January, will not be counted as employed.
The official data showed that more than 14 million Americans did not work at some point between December 29 and January 10 due to coronavirus or related impacts.