Job growth was stronger than expected to start 2026, providing some relief to concerns about the state of the U.S. labor market.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 130,000 for January, above the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 55,000, according to seasonally adjusted figures the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Wednesday. The total also was an improvement over December, which saw a gain of 48,000 after a slight downward revision.
The unemployment rate edged lower to 4.3%, below the forecast to stay unchanged at 4.4% from the prior month.
