U.S. employers added 130,000 jobs in January, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Feb. 11, and the agency’s revisions to prior monthly data indicate the labor market was weaker in 2024 and 2025 than previously estimated.
January job growth surpassed forecasters’ expectations, as employers added more than double the amount of jobs they did in December. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.3%, after falling from 4.6% in November to 4.4% in December. The report’s release, originally scheduled for Feb. 6 and delayed due to a short government shutdown, follows several other reports that have reignited concerns about a labor market still adapting to tariffs, an immigration crackdown limiting the supply of workers, and employers’ adoption of artificial intelligence.
Ahead of the report’s release, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told CNBC on Feb. 9 that people should expect “slightly smaller jobs numbers,” saying the results may reflect a “productivity boom” and “a pretty big decline in the labor force.”
“One shouldn’t panic if you see a sequence of numbers that are lower than you’re used to because, again, population growth is going down, and productivity growth is skyrocketing,” Hassett said. “It’s an unusual set of circumstances.”
After the January number was revealed, Principal Asset Management Chief Global Strategist Seema Shah said Hassett’s caveat “seems unnecessary.”
“This was not a weak print; it was a very strong one, even allowing for the considerable noise likely embedded in the data,” Shah said in a statement to USA TODAY.
What do revisions reveal?
Job seekers who felt the labor market was worse than economists said it was from April 2024 to March 2025 may feel vindicated by the BLS’ annual revision, which revealed the U.S. economy added 898,000 fewer jobs in that time than previously reported.
“That’s a big swing… You’re not sugarcoating losing nearly 900,000 jobs that you thought you had.” Mike Skordeles, head of U.S. economics at Truist, said. “But looking at the monthly numbers, most of the trend kind of stayed where it generally was.”
Skordeles said to economists, the revision is less of an issue because they are aware the BLS’ monthly reports are estimates and track other indicators to inform their outlooks.
“But I think for the layperson and that average business owner, they’re looking at it and they’re like, ‘I can’t make heads or tails of it,” he added.
The downgrade is based on state unemployment records that reflect actual payrolls rather than the government’s monthly survey. The annual revision is a standard BLS procedure that helps correct sampling and modeling errors. It also serves as a reminder that the agency’s monthly jobs reports are based on estimates and sample surveys, not a full census of U.S. employers.
The BLS also released its usual revisions for the prior two months. They indicate the labor market was even weaker at the end of 2025 than previously estimated. Payroll gains for December were revised down by 2,000, and payroll gains for November were revised down by 15,000.
Which industries are hiring?
Employment in health care again drove payroll gains in January, adding 82,000 jobs. The social assistance sector added 42,000 and construction added 33,000.
After a year characterized by mass layoffs, the federal government once again shed jobs, cutting 34,000 in January as some workers who accepted deferred resignation offers last year came off payrolls. Employment in financial activities declined by 22,000.
The BLS said employment was little changed in other industries, including manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, and hospitality.
How is the job market overall?
The BLS reported there were 7.5 million unemployed workers and 6.5 million job openings in December, meaning there were nearly one million more potential job seekers than available positions. Unemployment benefit claims are up, and a Feb. 5 Challenger, Gray & Christmas report revealed employers announced 108,435 job cuts in January, the most for the first month of a year since 2009.
In 2025, economists described the labor market as a “low-hire, low-fire” environment, as some American workers clung to their jobs in fear they would struggle to find new ones. That caution showed up unevenly across industries. Job seekers in health care may have been able to find work, while opportunities in other sectors were more limited.
Jeff Bonci, The Planet Group’s president of accounting & finance staffing, said the hiring slowdown reflects a “timing and caution issue.”
“Many companies paused hiring decisions late in Q4 and carried that conservatism into January as they waited on finalized budgets, interest rate clarity, and economic signals,” Bonci said in a statement to USA TODAY. “Looking ahead, we expect hiring activity to pick up as budgets unlock and companies move forward with targeted, skills-based hiring rather than large headcount expansions.”
Will the Fed cut rates in March?
Concerns about the job market prompted the Federal Reserve to cut rates three times late last year, but policymakers opted to hold rates steady at its most recent meeting Jan. 28.
Explaining the decision, Chair Jerome Powell said while job gains have remained low, the unemployment rate had shown “some signs of stabilization” and the outlook for economic activity had improved. He added, however, that because labor force participation and demand had both softened, it was “a difficult time” to read the job market.
Two members of the rate-setting committee, Stephen Miran and Christopher Waller, dissented from the January decision, preferring another quarter-point cut. Waller said he expected data revisions to reveal there was “virtually no growth” in payroll employment last year.
“Zero. Zip. Nada. Let this sink in for a moment—zero job growth versus an average of almost 2 million for the 10 years prior to 2025. This does not remotely look like a healthy labor market,” Waller said in a statement, adding that planned 2026 layoffs create a significant risk of “substantial deterioration” in the labor market this year.
As of Feb. 11, a majority of Fed watchers predict policymakers will continue to hold rates steady after their next meeting in March.
This story was updated to add new information.
Reach Rachel Barber at rbarber@usatoday.com and follow her on X @rachelbarber_
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US economy added 130,000 jobs in January, unemployment at 4.3%