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 even weaker in 2024 and 2025 than previously estimated.
The unemployment rate fell 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.”
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.
