OKLAHOMA CITY (OBV) — Total nonfarm payrolls rose by 130,000 in January 2026, and the unemployment rate was 4.3%, little changed on the month, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Payrolls: +130,000 overall. Private hiring concentrated in health care (+82,000), social assistance (+42,000), and construction (+33,000).
- Declines: Federal government (−34,000) and financial activities (−22,000).
- Unemployment: 4.3%, with 7.4 million unemployed; up from 4.0% and 6.9 million a year earlier. Long‑term unemployed held at 1.8 million (25% of the unemployed).
- Participation and employment‑population ratio: 62.5% and 59.8%, respectively—both little changed.
- Underemployment: People working part‑time for economic reasons fell by 453,000 to 4.9 million.
- Earnings and hours: Average hourly earnings $37.17, up 0.4% m/m and 3.7% y/y; average workweek 34.3 hours.
In this release, BLS also completed its annual “benchmark” update that aligns survey‑based payroll estimates with more comprehensive counts. After the revision, March 2025 employment was 898,000 lower on a seasonally adjusted basis, and total job growth for 2025 was revised from +584,000 to +181,000. BLS updated seasonal factors and adjusted its birth–death model to incorporate current sample information each month—technical changes that help reconcile early survey estimates with fuller administrative data.
BLS noted that January’s severe winter storms occurred mostly after the survey reference periods. As a result, there was no discernible national effect on payrolls, hours, earnings, or the unemployment rate, though the household survey response rate ran below average.
The Employment Situation for February is scheduled for release on Friday, March 6, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. ET.
