Frank Rondel
In January 2026, U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by 130,000, significantly surpassing the Dow Jones consensus estimate of 55,000, while the unemployment rate edged down to 4.3%, reports customreceipt.com, with reference to CNBC. This strong job growth was accompanied by a slight decrease in a broader measure that includes discouraged workers and part-time employees for economic reasons, falling 0.4 percentage points to 8% compared with December.
Job gains were concentrated in health care and social assistance sectors, with health care alone adding 82,000 positions and social assistance contributing 42,000. Construction employment also saw an increase of 33,000, marking a modest recovery for the sector after a period of limited growth. Conversely, federal government jobs decreased by 34,000 due to the conclusion of certain Department of Government Efficiency cuts, while financial activities lost 22,000 positions.
The report, released after a delay caused by the partial government shutdown that ended on February 3, also included final benchmark revisions for April 2024 through March 2025. Seasonally adjusted figures showed a downward revision of 898,000 jobs, close to Wall Street expectations and slightly lower than the initial 911,000 figure released in September 2025.
Average hourly earnings rose by 0.4% for the month, exceeding expectations by 0.1 percentage point, and reflected a 3.7% increase year-over-year, consistent with forecasts. Markets responded positively, with stock futures advancing and Treasury yields strengthening following the data release.
The household survey, which determines the unemployment rate, indicated a gain of 528,000 workers in January and a rise in the labor force participation rate to 62.5%, reinforcing the overall picture of a stabilizing labor market. Analysts note that the report likely supports the Federal Reserve’s decision to maintain current interest rates in the near term, with traders increasingly expecting a hold in the March meeting while keeping the possibility of rate cuts in June.
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