The U.S. added 143,000 jobs in January, fewer than economists expected, but the unemployment rate inched down to 4 percent from 4.1 percent, beating forecasts.
Forecasters surveyed by Dow Jones had anticipated 169,000 payroll gains in January, following a surprisingly large 256,000 jump in December.
The numbers released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics include routine annual data adjustments, in which November and December payroll levels were revised up by a combined 100,000.
Read more: U.S. business activity grows in October, price pressures ease
The BLS also revised downward the monthly pace of job gains for 2024, to an average of 166,000 from a previous estimate of 186,000, reinforcing widespread expectations that hiring last year wasn’t quite as robust as earlier data had suggested. From 2023 until early 2024 the United States witnessed a reduction of 589,000 payrolls across the nation.
Employers and workers demonstrate reduced movement throughout the labor market according to hiring rate and job quitting percentage indicators. But economists generally say the job market remains in solid shape even as it cools. Other surveys have shown executives are optimistic that President Donald Trump will boost business through new and extended tax cuts and deregulation that could spur more hiring.
In January, the U.S. Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady, marking the first pause in the rate-cutting cycle that began in September 2024. After cutting the benchmark interest rate a full percentage point last year, the Fed kept it in the current 4.25-4.50 percent range.
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