The US economy added a stronger-than-expected 130,000 jobs last month

By Alicia Wallace, CNN

(CNN) — Hiring picked up as 2026 kicked into gear, with the US economy adding a stronger-than-expected 130,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate dropping to 4.3%, according to new Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Wednesday.

Economists were expecting that employers added about 75,000 jobs in January and that unemployment held steady at 4.4%, according to FactSet estimates.

Wednesday’s report, which was delayed a few days because of the brief government shutdown, also provided more clarity on recent labor market trends: Job growth last year was far weaker than previously estimated, following a series of annual data revisions that incorporate more comprehensive employment data.

The latest adjustments show that the US economy added just 181,000 jobs last year, versus 584,000 as previously estimated.

The latest annual benchmark revision showed that there were 898,000 fewer jobs added between April 2024 and March 2025. On a not seasonally adjusted basis, the downward revision was 862,000.

This story is developing and will be updated.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.