This story on the January jobs report is developing and will be updated with more details.
The U.S. economy posted solid job growth in January as employers hired at a steady pace to start 2026 as the Federal Reserve evaluates the need for rate cuts in the months ahead.
What does the jobs report say?
The Labor Department on Wednesday reported that employers added 130,000 jobs in January. That figure was above the expectations of economists polled by LSEG, who estimated the economy would add 70,000 jobs.
The unemployment rate was 4.3%, slightly lower than economists’ expectations of 4.4%.
Revisions were made to the payroll numbers for the prior two months, with November’s report down by 15,000 from a gain of 56,000 to 41,000; while December’s gains were revised down by 2,000 from a gain of 50,000 to 48,000.
Taken together, employment in November and December was 17,000 jobs lower than previously reported.
What sectors added or lost the most jobs?
Private payrolls grew by 172,000 jobs in January, well above the LSEG estimate of 70,000.
Government payrolls declined by 42,000 jobs in January, with job cuts at the federal (-34,000) and state (-18,000) level partially offset by a gain among local governments (+10,000). The report noted that some federal workers who accepted a deferred resignation offer last year officially left federal payrolls, while the federal government’s workforce is down 327,000 jobs since its October 2024 peak, a decline of 10.9%.
The manufacturing sector added 5,000 jobs in January, beating the expectations of the economists polled by LSEG, who estimated a loss of 5,000 jobs.
Healthcare companies added 82,000 jobs in January, with gains in ambulatory healthcare services (+50,000), hospitals (+18,000), and nursing and residential care facilities (+13,000). The sector’s gains were above its monthly average of 33,000 jobs added per month in 2025.
Construction firms added 33,000 jobs in January, with the gain focused among nonresidential specialty trade contractors (+25,000). Employment in the construction sector was essentially flat in 2025.
The financial sector shed 22,000 jobs in January and is 49,000 jobs off its recent peak in May 2025. Within the sector, insurance carriers and related activities lost 11,000 jobs over the month.
What does it mean for the workforce?
The number of long-term unemployed, defined as those who have been jobless for 27 weeks or more, was little changed in January at 1.8 million but is up 386,000 from a year ago. The long-term unemployed accounted for 25% of all unemployed people in January.
The number of people who were employed part-time for economic reasons decreased by 453,000 to 4.9 million in January, but is up 410,000 over the last year. These individuals would’ve preferred full-time jobs but were working part-time because their hours were cut, or they were unable to find full-time jobs.
The labor force participation rate was 62.5% in January while the employment-population ratio was 59.8%, both measures having changed little over the last year.
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