The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 130,000 net new jobs for January 2026

Non-farm payrolls growth shook investors this morning with a massive surprise. The BLS reported a 130,00 jobs increase compared to 70,000 consensus for January, 2026. Even better the Unemployment percentage dropped to 4.3% from 4.4% in December even as more people entered the work force, a trend reversal given reversing immigration.  January payroll growth was also far higher than 48,000 recorded in December 2025 slightly revised higher from the initial 50,000 estimate, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday.

However, the big story was the annual revisions, which now reduces total job creation for 2025 to just 181,000 dropping from 584,000, a monthly average of just 15,000, from the prior average of 49,000, clearly confirming that 2025 was a terrible year for employment across the country. The US Annual Benchmark Revision is an annual exercise, which resulted in a subtraction of 862,000 jobs against estimates that had called for a total reduction of about 825,000 jobs. Not terrible. Another positive was the labor force participation rate, which went up a tiny bit to 62.5% from 62.4%. Average weekly hours also went up to 34.3 for January. 

Key takeaways- Sure, the revisions do indicate an abysmal payroll gain of just 15,000 per month for 2025, but given even worse expectations the markets seem to like it. Traders have dampened their expectations for the next Federal Reserve rate cut of 25 basis points to July 2026 instead of June. The low numbers after revisions do confirm the low consumer confidence and angst in the labor force and the broader economy. It is a K shaped economy without job growth to propel spending.