WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- U.S. employers added 143,000 jobs in January amid slowing job growth, with the unemployment rate edging down to 4.0 percent, the U.S. Labor Department reported Friday.
Job gains occurred in health care, retail trade, and social assistance. Employment declined in the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction industry, according the department's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for November was revised up by 49,000, to a gain of 261,000, and the change for December was revised up by 51,000, from to a gain of 307,000. With these revisions, employment in November and December combined is 100,000 higher than previously reported.
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 143,000 in January, similar to the average monthly gain of 166,000 in 2024. However, the latest data indicates a slowdown in job growth compared to previous months.
Health care added 44,000 jobs in January. Employment in retail trade increased by 34,000. Social assistance added 22,000 jobs.
Government employment continued to trend up in January, adding 32,000 jobs. However, as the Donald Trump administration moves to reduce the federal workforce, this data could be negatively impacted in the future.
Employment in the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction industry declined by 8,000 over the month.
The unemployment rate dropped by 0.1 percentage point to 4.0 percent in January, the lowest level since May 2024.
In January, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 17 cents, or 0.5 percent, to 35.87 U.S. dollars. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 4.1 percent.
