Key Points:
- Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 143,000 in January and the unemployment rate fell slightly to 4.0%.
- Consensus was a gain of 170,000 jobs.
- The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for November was revised up by 49,000, from 212,000 to 261,000, and the change for December was revised up by 51,000, from 256,000 to 307,000. With these revisions, employment in November and December combined is 100,000 higher than previously reported.
- Healthcare added 44,000 jobs in January, retail trade added 34,000, government employment rose by 32,000, and social assistance added 22,000 jobs.
- In January, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by $0.17 to $35.87.
- The average workweek for all private employees fell 0.1 hour 34.1 hours in January.
- The labor force participation rate fell remained at 62.6% and is 0.8% below its February 2020 level.
- The Right Facts will continue to monitor employment.