A hiring sign is displayed in the window of a Chipotle on August 22, 2024 in Alexandria, Virginia.
Anna Rose Layden | Getty Images
Job creation was weaker than expected in January, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.
Nonfarm payrolls rose by a seasonally adjusted 143,000 for the month, down from an upwardly revised 307,000 in December and below the 169,000 forecast from Dow Jones. The unemployment rate nudged lower to 4%.
The report also featured significant benchmark revisions to the 2024 totals that saw substantial downward changes to the previous payrolls level.
The revisions, which the BLS does each year, reduced the jobs count by 589,000 in the 12 months through March 2024. A preliminary adjustment back in August 2024 had indicated 818,000 fewer jobs.
The level of those reporting at work, as computed in the household survey, soared by 2.23 million, the product of annual adjustments for population and immigration in the country. The household survey happens separately from the establishment survey used to tally total jobs.
Job growth for January was concentrated in health care (44,000), retail (34,000) and government (32,000). The total gain for the month was slightly off the average 166,000 in 2024, the BLS said. Social assistance added 22,000 while mining-related industries lost 8,000.
The unemployment rate moved lower as labor force participation increased, rising to 62.6%, up 0.1 percentage point from December. A broader measure that includes discouraged workers as well as those holding part-time jobs for economic reasons held steady at 7.5%.
Markets showed little reaction to the report, with stock market futures modestly positive and Treasury yields higher as well.
While some economists had expected that the California wildfires would reduce the job count, the bureau said they “had no discernible effect” on the total.
The report is the first jobs count since President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20 with plans to cut taxes, boost growth and level the global playing field on trade by slapping heavy tariffs on the biggest U.S. trading partners.
Federal Reserve officials are watching the numbers closely as they contemplate their next monetary policy moves. The Fed cut its benchmark rate by a full percentage point in the latter part of 2024, but policymakers of late have been advocating a more cautious pace ahead as they evaluate policy ramifications.
—The unemployment rate fell to 4% in January. The headline on an earlier version misstated the move.
