January labor report: 2026 starts off with 130,000 jobs added

Addison Group

The US economy added a higher-than-expected 130,000 new jobs in January, according to the slightly delayed report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate inched down to 4.3% compared to 4.4% in December.

Nonfarm payroll change, month-over-month, January 2024 - January 2026

Healthcare led hiring in January, with 82,000 new jobs, as professional and business services gained steam with 34,000 new roles.

Government shed 42,000 jobs last month, with 34,000 of those losses coming from the federal government. Overall, federal government-level roles are down by 327,000 since reaching a peak in October 2024.

Leisure and hospitality also saw an increase of 1,000 jobs.

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