U.S. consumer spending rose by 2.1 percent in January, despite mounting price pressures, annual inflation rates rising to a 40 year high, and Americans dealing with the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant, according to a Feb. 25 report by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The numbers are a major improvement from December 2021, as spending bounced back from a revised 0.8 percent decline at the end of the year. The recent data shows that the U.S. economy is starting 2022 on solid footing, with employers adding 467,000 jobs in January and retail sales rising to a seasonally adjusted 3.8 percent from December 2021. Personal income was unchanged for the month, following the expiration of the federal government’s monthly child tax credit, offsetting a 0.5 percent increase in wages. Consumer spending is being supported by massive savings and strong wage growth amid a tightening labor market, which offset January’s reduction in government subsidies to …