Total U.S. jobs

The U.S. economy added 143,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in January, marking the 49th consecutive month of expansion. While decent, this represents a slowdown from the upwardly revised gains of 251,000 in November and 307,000 in December—an increase of 100,000 more jobs than initially estimated for those two months. Total nonfarm payroll employment now stands at a record 159.07 million, surpassing the pre-pandemic peak of February 2020 by 6.78 million jobs, or 4.5%.

While job growth continues, it is moderating. With the latest revisions, the U.S. economy added nearly 2 million net new jobs in 2024, a deceleration from the 4.56 million and 2.59 million gains recorded in 2022 and 2023, respectively. This trend suggests a stabilization in hiring following the sharp fluctuations of the post-pandemic era. Notably, from 2017 to 2019, the economy averaged annual job gains of 2.13 million, indicating that employment growth is returning to a more typical pace.

The unemployment rate edged down from 4.1% in December to 4.0% in January, marking an eight-month low while remaining historically low. The number of unemployed individuals saw little change, declining slightly from 6.89 million to 6.85 million. However, the number of employed individuals surged from 161.66 million to a record 163.90 million. Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate ticked up from 62.5% to 62.6%, reaching a four-month high.

Average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory workers in the private sector rose a solid 0.5% in January, up from 0.3% in December and marking the strongest monthly gain since May 2022. On a year-over-year basis, wages increased by 4.2%, aligning with the average pace observed over the past six months. While recent moderation has stalled somewhat, wage growth for this group has been steadily cooling since peaking at 7.0% in March 2022.

Job growth in January was mixed. There was strong growth reported for private education and health services; trade, transportation, and utilities (notably retail trade); and government (particularly at the local level). However, employment declined for leisure and hospitality (including eating and drinking places), mining and logging, and professional and business services. The private sector contributed 111,000 new jobs, while government employment increased by 32,000. Below is a detailed breakdown of sector employment changes for January, ranked from highest to lowest:

• Private education and health services: +61,000
• Trade, transportation, and utilities: +38,000 (retail trade: +34,300)
• Local government: +21,000
• Other services: +17,000
• Federal government: +9,000
• Financial activities: +7,000
• Construction: +4,000
• Manufacturing: +3,000
• Information: +2,000
• State government: +2,000
• Leisure and hospitality: -3,000 (eating and drinking places: -15,700)
• Mining and logging: -7,000
• Professional and business services: -11,000

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