The U.S. economy added 225,000 jobs in January, while unemployment ticked up to 3.6 percent, according to a report released today from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Despite the slight increase, the unemployment rate has held below 4 percent since 2018, leading to a tight job market and some of the lowest rates since the late 1960s.
That didn't stop a handful of sectors from hiring waves in January:
Health care added 36,000 jobs, including 23,000 in ambulatory health care, and 10,000 in hospitals.
Transportation and warehousing picked up 28,000 jobs, including 14,000 couriers and messengers and 6,000 warehouse workers.
Construction led the pack with 44,000 jobs focused on specialty contractors.
Leisure and hospitality were close behind with 36,000 jobs.
Manufacturing was down for the third time in four months, with a net loss of 12,000 jobs. Most of the losses came from auto plants, which were impacted by Trump's tariff regime and global trade disputes, shedding 11,000 jobs over the month.
Employment in retail, information, financial activities, government, and mining barely budged.
But workers did see marginal wage gains. Average hourly earnings for private, nonfarm employees rose 7 cents to $28.44 per hour, while earnings increased 3.1 percent over the year.
Some numbers were unchanged in January, including the 1.2 million unemployed who have been jobless for 27 weeks and the 4.2 million employed only part-time for economic reasons.
The number of reentrants to the labor force, which includes people who have previously worked but were not in the labor force prior to looking for a job, was 183,000.
Out of the 5.9 million unemployed people, the rates differ across subgroups. Adult men (3.3. percent unemployed) are ahead of adult women (3.2 percent) who are ahead of Hispanics (4.3 percent) who are ahead of blacks (6.0 percent). Teenagers stood at 12.2 percent.
A total of 574,000 people joined the workforce in January, with a participation rate of 63.4 percent. The total labor participation of U.S. adults was 61.2 percent, the highest since 2008.
Despite the strong job numbers, stock markets opened down across the board on Friday.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
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