U.S. economy added just 143,000 jobs in January but unemployment rate fell to 4%

[BumRushDaShow]

Last edited Fri Feb 7, 2025, 12:09 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: CNBC

Published Fri, Feb 7 2025 8:31 AM EST Updated 2 Hours Ago


Job creation was lower than expected in January, though the unemployment rate edged down and worker wages rose sharply, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. Nonfarm payrolls climbed by a seasonally adjusted 143,000 for the month, down from an upwardly revised 307,000 in December and below the 169,000 forecast from Dow Jones. The unemployment rate nudged lower to 4%.

The report also featured significant benchmark revisions to the 2024 totals that saw substantial downward changes to the previous payrolls level though upward revisions to those who reported holding jobs.



The revisions, which the BLS does each year, reduced the jobs count by 589,000 in the 12 months through March 2024. A preliminary adjustment back in August 2024 had indicated 818,000 fewer jobs.

The level of those reporting at work, as computed in the household survey, soared by 2.23 million, the product of annual adjustments for population and immigration in the country. The household survey happens separately from the establishment survey used to tally total jobs.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/07/jobs-report-january-2025.html

---

From the source -

Link to tweet

BLS-Labor Statistics
@BLS_gov
·
Follow
Payroll employment rises by 143,000 in January; unemployment rate edges down to 4.0% https://bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
#JobsReport #BLSdata
8:33 AM · Feb 7, 2025

Article updated.

Previous articles -

Published Fri, Feb 7 2025 8:31 AM EST Updated 2 Min Ago


Job creation was weaker than expected in January, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. Nonfarm payrolls rose by a seasonally adjusted 143,000 for the month, down from an upwardly revised 307,000 in December and below the 169,000 forecast from Dow Jones. The unemployment rate nudged lower to 4%.

The report also featured significant benchmark revisions to the 2024 totals that saw substantial downward changes to the previous payrolls level.



he revisions, which the BLS does each year, reduced the jobs count by 589,000 in the 12 months through March 2024. A preliminary adjustment back in August 2024 had indicated 818,000 fewer jobs.

The level of those reporting at work, as computed in the household survey, soared by 2.23 million, the product of annual adjustments for population and immigration in the country. The household survey happens separately from the establishment survey used to tally total jobs.

Published Fri, Feb 7 2025 8:31 AM EST Updated 5 Min Ago


Job creation was weaker than expected in January, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

Nonfarm payrolls rose by 143,000 for the month, down from an upwardly revised 307,000 in December and below the 169,000 forecast from Dow Jones. The unemployment rate nudged lower to 4%.

The report also featured significant benchmark revisions to the 2024 totals that saw substantial downward changes to the previous payrolls level.

The report is the first jobs count since President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20 with plans to cut taxes, boost growth and level the global playing field on trade by slapping heavy tariffs on the biggest U.S. trading partners.

This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates.

Published Fri, Feb 7 2025 8:31 AM EST Updated 1 Min Ago


Job creation was weaker than expected in January, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

Nonfarm payrolls rose by 143,000 for the month, down from 307,000 in December and below the 169,000 forecast from Dow Jones. The unemployment rate nudged lower to 4%.

The report is the first jobs count since President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20 with plans to cut taxes, boost growth and level the global playing field on trade by slapping heavy tariffs on the biggest U.S. trading partners.

This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates.

Original article/headline -

U.S. economy added 143,000 jobs in January, fewer than expected

Published Fri, Feb 7 2025 8:31 AM EST


Nonfarm payrolls were projected to increase by 169,000 in January, according to the Dow Jones consensus forecast.

This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. Mucho revisions too, which are going to upset lots of folks. And good morning. NT

[BumRushDaShow]

2. I was surprised how quick CNBC had it.

And I expect it will be chewed through thoroughly. Good morning & TGIF!

[mahatmakanejeeves]

3. Payroll employment rises by 143,000 in January; unemployment rate edges down to 4.0%

Payroll employment rises by 143,000 in January; unemployment rate edges down to 4.0%
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 143,000 in January, and the unemployment rate edged down to 4.0 percent. Job gains occurred in health care, retail trade, and social assistance. Employment declined in the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction industry.

Economic News Release USDL-25-0133

Employment Situation Summary
Transmission of material in this news release is embargoed until 8:30 a.m. (ET) Friday, February 7, 2025

Technical information:
Household data: [phone] * [e-mail] * www.bls.gov/cps
Establishment data: [phone] * [e-mail] * www.bls.gov/ces

Media contact: [phone] * [e-mail]


THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION -- JANUARY 2025


Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 143,000 in January, and the unemployment rate edged down to 4.0 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in health care, retail trade, and social assistance. Employment declined in the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction industry.

This news release presents statistics from two monthly surveys. The household survey measures labor force status, including unemployment, by demographic characteristics. The establishment survey measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry. For more information about the concepts and statistical methodology used in these two surveys, see the Technical Note.

____________________________________________________________________________________________
|
| Changes to The Employment Situation Data
|
| Establishment survey data have been revised as a result of the annual benchmarking
| process and the updating of seasonal adjustment factors. Also, household survey data
| for January 2025 reflect updated population estimates. See the notes at the end of this
| news release for more information.
|____________________________________________________________________________________________


Household Survey Data

The unemployment rate edged down to 4.0 percent in January, after accounting for the annual adjustments to the population controls. The number of unemployed people, at 6.8 million, changed little over the month. (See table A-1. See the note at the end of this news release and tables B and C for more information about annual population adjustments to the household survey estimates.)

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (3.7 percent), adult women (3.7 percent), teenagers (11.8 percent), Whites (3.5 percent), Blacks (6.2 percent), Asians (3.7 percent), and Hispanics (4.8 percent) showed little or no change in January. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more), at 1.4 million, changed little in January. The long-term unemployed accounted for 21.1 percent of all unemployed people. (See table A-12.)

In January, both the labor force participation rate (62.6 percent) and the employment-population ratio (60.1 percent) were unchanged, after accounting for the annual adjustments to the population controls. Both measures have been relatively flat in recent months. (See table A-1. For additional information about the effects of the population adjustments, see table C.)

The number of people employed part time for economic reasons, at 4.5 million, changed little in January. These individuals would have preferred full-time employment but were working part time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs. (See table A-8.)

The number of people not in the labor force who currently want a job, at 5.5 million, was little changed in January. These individuals were not counted as unemployed because they were not actively looking for work during the 4 weeks preceding the survey or were unavailable to take a job. (See table A-1.)

Among those not in the labor force who wanted a job, the number of people marginally attached to the labor force, at 1.6 million, was essentially unchanged in January. These individuals wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months but had not looked for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. The number of discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were available for them, changed little at 592,000 in January. (See Summary table A.)

Establishment Survey Data

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 143,000 in January, similar to the average monthly gain of 166,000 in 2024. In January, job gains occurred in health care, retail trade, and social assistance. Employment declined in the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction industry. (See table B-1. See the note at the end of this news release and table A for more information about the annual benchmark process.)

Health care added 44,000 jobs in January, with gains in hospitals (+14,000), nursing and residential care facilities (+13,000), and home health care services (+11,000). Job growth in health care averaged 57,000 per month in 2024.

Employment in retail trade increased by 34,000 in January. Job gains occurred in general merchandise retailers (+31,000) and furniture and home furnishings retailers (+5,000). Electronics and appliance retailers lost 7,000 jobs. Retail trade employment had shown little net change in 2024.

Social assistance added 22,000 jobs in January, led by individual and family services (+20,000). Employment also rose in the community food and housing, emergency, and other relief services industry (+4,000). Employment in social assistance grew by an average of 20,000 per month in 2024.

Government employment continued to trend up in January (+32,000), similar to the average monthly gain in 2024 (+38,000).

Employment in the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction industry declined by 8,000 over the month, following little net change in 2024. In January, the job loss was concentrated in support activities for mining (-8,000).

Employment showed little change over the month in other major industries, including construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, information, financial activities, professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and other services.

In January, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 17 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $35.87. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 4.1 percent. In January, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees rose by 16 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $30.84. (See tables B-3 and B-8.)

The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged down by 0.1 hour to 34.1 hours in January. In manufacturing, the average workweek was little changed at 40.0 hours, and overtime was unchanged at 2.8 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls decreased by 0.2 hour to 33.5 hours. (See tables B-2 and B-7.)

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for November was revised up by 49,000, from +212,000 to +261,000, and the change for December was revised up by 51,000, from +256,000 to +307,000. With these revisions, employment in November and December combined is 100,000 higher than previously reported. (Monthly revisions result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors. The annual benchmark process also contributed to the November and December revisions.)

_____________
The Employment Situation for February is scheduled to be released on Friday, March 7, 2025, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).



Revisions to Establishment Survey Data

In accordance with annual practice, the establishment survey data released today have been benchmarked to reflect comprehensive counts of payroll jobs for March 2024. These counts are derived principally from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), which counts jobs covered by the Unemployment Insurance (UI) tax system. The benchmark process results in revisions to not seasonally adjusted data from April 2023 forward. Seasonally adjusted data from January 2020 forward are subject to revision. In addition, data for some series prior to 2020, both seasonally adjusted and unadjusted, incorporate other revisions.

The seasonally adjusted total nonfarm employment level for March 2024 was revised downward by 589,000. On a not seasonally adjusted basis, the total nonfarm employment level for March 2024 was revised downward by 598,000, or -0.4 percent. Not seasonally adjusted, the absolute average benchmark revision over the past 10 years is 0.1 percent.

The over-the-year change in total nonfarm employment for March 2024 was revised from +2,900,000 to +2,346,000 (seasonally adjusted). Table A presents revised total nonfarm employment data on a seasonally adjusted basis from January to December 2024.

All revised historical establishment survey data are available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/ces/data/home.htm. In addition, an article that discusses the benchmark and post-benchmark revisions and other technical issues is available at www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cesbmart.htm.

{snip a bunch of tables}

* * * * *

[center]Facilities for Sensory Impaired[/center]

Information from these releases will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: [phone], Federal Relay Services: 1-800-877-8339.

* * * * *

[chicoescuela]

4. Tsf will pull out the black sharpie and make everything better

[travelingthrulife]

5. These people being forced out of their jobs are facing an empty job market.

These awful Republicans hate the government so much they will expect these highly qualified workers to pick fruit and vegetables.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

7. Actually it is a full job market, but it will soon deteriorate. You are right about vegetables :)

Low unemployment means "full employment", full of jobs and some upward wage pressure for a bit, part of a bit of an inflationary bump briefly that I expect before a longer economic contraction begins, I think.

Soon there will lots of skilled and professionals looking for work as goobermint layoffs begin and tariff contractions bite.

You are right: They will not be taking jobs tending vegetable fields.

[travelingthrulife]

13. Ok, I see my mistake

[Bernardo de La Paz]

6. Doesn't get any better than this, even for maga

Marketwatch analysis calls this "full employment". It also says that based on revisions of prior data, it turns out that there was a surge of immigrant workers in 2022 and 2023, but in 2024 more native-born workers got jobs. So, given maga demographics, this is as good as it gets for maga.

Wily ol' Joe did the right things for the American people, thinking he was setting himself up for success (and he was). But this set tRump up for failure because we know tRump did not earn his economics degree, nor does he listen to explanations.



Vice-president tRump gave president Muck his acquiescence to Muck-Project2025-MoneyBros "move fast and break things" strategy. They are already breaking things. maga will feel as much or more economic TrumPain as anyone else and there will be lots to go around due to lots of wreckage.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

8. Statement from the Press Secretary on January's jobs report

Statement from the Press Secretary on January’s jobs report
February 7, 2025

“Today’s jobs report reveals the Biden economy was far worse than anyone thought, and underscores the necessity of President Trump’s pro-growth policies. During his first weeks in office, President Trump declared a national energy emergency to Make America Energy Dominant Again, pledged to cut 10 regulations for every new regulatory action, and outlined a plan to deliver the largest tax cut in history for hardworking Americans. President Trump is delivering on his promise to restore our broken economy, revive small business optimism, create jobs, and ignite a new Golden Age for America.”


– Karoline Leavitt

[GreenWave]

9. And thus ended any job growth news for the next 4 years.

[Historic NY]

10. Wait until next month

[IronLionZion]

11. Trump/Musk inherited a very strong economy

and are working to destroy it as fast as they can. There will be pain.

[Wiz Imp]

12. It is ridiculous to call the jobs revisions "substantial".

They reduced the total estimate of jobs in the US by less than 4 tenths of 1 percent - hardly "substantial". And the revisions were less than BLS' initial estimates they announced in August.

[Takket]

14. closing the book on Biden's fantastic presidency with positive numbers from start to finish

who knows what these numbers will mean going forward. surely there will be job losses now as musk and drumpf wage their war against the economy, but with his minions at the controls, i'm sure the next report will show glowing fantastic numbers, like no one has ever seen!

we'll never be able to trust a word coming from the government anymore.