WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. economy has added 130,000 new jobs in January, according to the delayed employment summary from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The gain more than doubles the expectations from Dow Jones economists, who forecasted 55,000 new jobs to be added, according to CNBC.
The unemployment rate also came in better than expected, declining by 10 basis points to 4.3 percent. Additionally, the BLS made minimal revisions from November and December. Combined the revisions totaled 17,000 fewer jobs.
Among employment sectors, healthcare led the pack in January by adding 82,000 jobs. Within the sector employment was concentrated in ambulatory services (50,000), hospitals (18,000) and nursing and residential care (13,000). Job growth in healthcare averaged 33,000 jobs in 2025, according to the BLS. Other sectors that saw significant gains in January include social assistance (42,000) and construction (33,000).
Federal government employment continued to decline, with 34,000 job losses registered in January. The BLS notes that some federal employees who accepted a deferred resignation offer in 2025 officially came off federal payrolls last month. Since reaching a peak in October 2024, federal government employment is down by 327,000, or 10.9 percent. Many of the job cuts can be attributed to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an initiative by the second Trump administration to streamline and reform government employment at the federal level.
The financial services industry also continued to decline, with 22,000 jobs lost in January. The sector is down by 49,000 jobs since reaching its peak in May 2025, according to the BLS.