U.S. consumer spending rose by 2.1 percent in January, despite mounting price pressures, annual inflation rates at a forty year high, and as Americans dealt with the spread of the Omicron variant, according to the 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 the U.S. economy starting the year on a solid footing, with employers adding 467,000 jobs in January and retail sales rising to a seasonally adjusted 3.8 percent from December. 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 households. Actual …