Surge of 130,000 US Hires Last Month Contrasts with 2025 Job Cuts

Government revisions cut 2024-2025 U.S. payrolls by hundreds of thousands, but January saw strong job gains in healthcare and manufacturing.

Published on Feb. 11, 2026

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U.S. employers added a surprisingly strong 130,000 jobs in January, a stark contrast to the drastic job cuts seen in 2025. However, the Labor Department also reported major revisions that reduced the number of jobs created last year to just 181,000, the weakest since the pandemic year of 2020. The unemployment rate fell to 4.3%, as the number of employed Americans rose and the number of unemployed fell.

Why it matters

The January job numbers provide an encouraging sign for the labor market after a sluggish year, but the revisions to 2024-2025 payrolls highlight the lingering impact of high interest rates, Elon Musk's federal workforce purge, and the chaos from President Trump's trade policies. The data raises questions about whether job creation will accelerate to match strong economic growth, or if automation and AI will mean the economy can grow without as many jobs.

The details

Healthcare accounted for nearly 82,000, or more than 60%, of last month's new jobs. Factories added 5,000, snapping a streak of 13 straight months of job losses. The federal government shed 34,000 jobs. Average hourly wages rose a solid 0.4% from December to January.

  • The Labor Department reported the job numbers on February 11, 2026.
  • The revisions covered the year ending March 2025.

The players

Heather Long

Chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union.

Nicole Bachaud

A labor economist with ZipRecruiter.

Samuel Tombs

An economist with Pantheon Macroeconomics.

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What they’re saying

“The surprisingly strong job gains in January were driven mainly by health care and social assistance. But it is enough to stabilize the job market and send the unemployment rate slightly lower. This is still a largely frozen job market, but it is stabilizing. That's an encouraging sign to start the year, especially after the hiring recession in 2025.”

— Heather Long, Chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union (WRAL)

“This could signal the start of a revival in the labor market.”

— Nicole Bachaud, Labor economist with ZipRecruiter (WRAL)

“We think it is premature to conclude the labor market has decisively turned a corner.”

— Samuel Tombs, Economist with Pantheon Macroeconomics (WRAL)

What’s next

The Federal Reserve will likely consider the stronger-than-expected January job gains as it decides whether to further delay more cuts to its key interest rate.

The takeaway

The January job numbers provide a glimmer of hope for the labor market after a sluggish 2025, but the revisions to previous years' payrolls highlight the lingering challenges facing the economy, including the impact of high interest rates, automation, and shifting immigration patterns.