• Employers added 130,000 jobs in January, exceeding expectations.
• The unemployment rate fell to 4.3%, down from 4.4% in December.
• Major job losses were revised down in 2025, with significant restructuring in several industries.

In January, U.S. employers surprising added 130,000 jobs, exceeding the expectations of economists who forecasted a gain of only 75,000. This uptick is seen as a sign that the labor market persists in resilience, amid revisions that indicated much weaker job creation in 2025 than previously thought. The unemployment rate decreased from 4.4% in December to 4.3% in January, reflecting a modest increase in job participation rates, according to CBS News, NPR, and Los Angeles Times.

The report also highlighted the sharp revisions in job creation from the previous year. According to updated figures, the total number of jobs added in 2025 was adjusted downward by 898,000, with only 181,000 jobs created instead of the previously reported 584,000. This signifies the slowest job growth since the pandemic year of 2020. Industries such as health care and construction led job gains in January, with health care adding nearly 82,000 positions, while manufacturing saw a slight rebound after months of job losses, as noted by NPR and Los Angeles Times.

In January, not all sectors experienced growth; the warehouses and transportation industry faced job losses, and the federal government cut around 34,000 jobs.

Despite the potential for continued sluggishness in hiring, the reduced unemployment rate may offer some relief to policymakers worried about the implications of high interest rates on the economy. Analysts noted wages also showed a positive trend, with average hourly earnings rising 0.4% from December to January. This suggests broader economic factors could contribute to future hiring trends, supporting consumer spending and overall economic performance, as discussed in CBS News, NPR, and Los Angeles Times.