The U.S. Department of Labor released an employment report on Friday, February 7, showing that in January 2025, there were 143,000 new non-farm jobs created, lower than the Dow Jones prediction of 169,000, but the unemployment rate dropped to 4%.
In addition to releasing the data for January, the Bureau of Labor Statistics also revised the December data from 256,000 to an upward adjustment of 307,000 new jobs added.
In terms of specific industries, the healthcare sector led in job growth with 44,000 new non-farm jobs added in January. Other industries with significant job growth included retail (34,000), government (32,000), and social assistance (22,000).
Employment in the mining, quarrying, as well as oil and gas extraction industries decreased by 8,000 in January.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics revises the employment growth numbers for the past year annually. The report released on Friday showed that in the 12 months ending in March, the U.S. economy created 598,000 fewer job positions than previously estimated.
Regarding employee wages, the average hourly wage in January increased by 0.5% to $35.87, a 4.1% increase compared to the previous year.
As of the time of writing, the market’s reaction to this report has been relatively muted, with slight increases in stock market futures and a slight rise in government bond yields.
Despite some economists predicting that the California wildfires would reduce employment numbers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics stated that this had “no discernible effect” on overall employment figures.
This new report marks the first employment statistics since President Trump took office on January 20. Job growth in the U.S. slowed in January, but the unemployment rate decreased slightly. This may give the Federal Reserve reason to postpone any interest rate cuts at least until June.
According to Reuters, Adam Sarhan, CEO of “50 Park Investments,” commented on Friday’s employment report, stating, “The employment report is neither too hot nor too cold… which has relieved the market. At this stage, for the market, ‘no news is good news.’ From my perspective, the market is very resilient.”
Lindsay Rosner, Head of Fixed Income Investments at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, told Reuters via email, “There are mixed factors at play here. Overall, the non-farm employment data is weak, below expectations, but the previous revision is positive (referring to the upward revision of the December employment data), and the unemployment rate dropped to 4%. The January data was influenced by one-off factors, including the California wildfires and cold weather in other parts of the U.S…. We believe the Federal Reserve may exercise caution in overinterpreting today’s report.”