Economists are expecting an overall healthy reading, with 169,000 net new jobs created in the month and the unemployment rate holding steady at 4.1%. The January report includes annual benchmark revisions and updates to models that could affect the data.

The Labor Department has released its first jobs report of the year, covering January 2025. It shows that payrolls grew by 143,000 - somewhat lower than economists’ expectations of 175,000. On the other hand, payroll growth for the end of 2024 was revised up quite a bit. Over the past 3 months, payroll growth has averaged a very strong 234,000.