Employers around the U.S. added 143,000 jobs in January, as the Los Angeles wildfires and colder-than-expected weather across much of the country dampened hiring at the start of 2025.

The numbers

Hiring was weaker than expected by economists, who had forecast that the economy had added 170,000 jobs last month, according to a poll by FactSet. 

On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said the nation’s unemployment rate edged down to 4%, versus 4.1% in December.

The unemployment rate had been forecast to remain at 4.1% in January, according to FactSet.

What it means 

The January employment figures show a slowdown in hiring from December, when employers added 307,000 new jobs. Still, the 143,000 new jobs in January are not far off from the average monthly gain of 166,000 in 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Employers in the health care, retail and social assistance industries added new hires last month, although employment declined in mining, quarrying and the oil and gas extraction industries, the BLS said on Friday.

Although the latest data indicates the labor market remains solid — albeit growing at a slower pace than in December — it also means borrowing costs for consumers and businesses are likely to stay higher longer. The Federal Reserve wants to see more progress on getting inflation down to its goal of a 2% annual rate before it makes additional rate cuts. 

At its January meeting, the Federal Reserve held its benchmark rate unchanged, hitting the pause button on a series of rate cuts it started last fall. 

At that meeting, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed wasn’t in a rush to cut rates again because the U.S. economy is “in quite a good place,” citing growing GDP and solid job gains. 

What the experts say

While hiring slowed last month, December’s strong jobs numbers increasingly look like an anomaly, noted Sandra Moran, a workforce expert and ADP’s WorkForce Software, said in an email.

“Opportunities for unemployed workers are decreasing as businesses remain cautious about increasing their headcount,” Moran said. 

Still, the impact from “one-off factors including wildfires in California and a cold snap in other parts of the country” means that the Federal Reserve may hold off on reading too much into last month’s data, added Lindsay Rosner, head of multisector fixed income investing at Goldman Sachs Asset Management.