US adds 1.3 lakh jobs in January, but 2024-25 payrolls revised sharply lower

US employment showed stronger-than-expected growth in January, with payrolls increasing by 130,000, according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics. The gain exceeded the Dow Jones consensus estimate of 55,000 and improved on December’s revised increase of 48,000.

The unemployment rate declined to 4.3%, below forecasts of 4.4%, signalling a modest easing in labour market slack. The report, released on Wednesday (February 11) after a delay due to the partial government shutdown that ended on February 3, indicated a labour market growing at a slower pace, with limited signs of rising layoffs.

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With the release of each January employment report, the BLS benchmarks payrolls to a more accurate but less timely series called the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. That data is based on state unemployment insurance tax records and covers most US jobs.

That adjustment showed job growth was nearly 900,000 lower in the 12 months through March 2025 than initially reported. The figure roughly aligned with what the BLS’s preliminary estimate suggested.