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Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 143,000 in January, slightly below the expectation of 170,000. Although the January gain was weaker than expected, December and November’s job gains were revised upward substantially by a combined 100,000 jobs to 307,000 and 261,000, respectively. The 12-month average stands at 168,000 job gains per month. The unemployment rate ticked down 0.1% to 4.0%, while the labor force participation rate edged up 0.1% to 62.6%.

Manufacturing employment inched up by 3,000, following the December loss of 12,000 jobs. The most significant losses in manufacturing in January occurred in transportation equipment, which shed 12,400 jobs over the month. Meanwhile, the most significant gains occurred in fabricated metal products, which added 3,800 jobs over the month.

The employment-population ratio rose 0.1% to 60.1% but is down a slight 0.1 percentage point from a year ago. Employed persons who are part-time workers for economic reasons increased by 119,000 to 4.48 million and are up from 4.42 million in January 2024. Native-born employment is up 8,000 over the month and 766,000 over the year. Meanwhile, foreign-born employment is up 1,045,000 over the month and 1,932,000 over the year.

Average hourly earnings for all private nonfarm payroll employees rose 0.5%, or 17 cents, reaching $35.87. Over the past year, earnings have grown 4.1%. The average workweek for all employees and manufacturing employees edged down by 0.1 hour to 34.1 hours and 40.0 hours, respectively.