Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) in the United States (US) rose by 130,000 in January, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on Wednesday. This reading followed the 48,000 (revised from 50,000) increase recorded in December and came in above the market expectation of 70,000.
Other details of the report showed that the Unemployment Rate edged lower to 4.3% from 4.4%, while the Labor Force Participation Rate ticked up to 62.5% from 62.4%. Finally, annual wage inflation, as measured by the change in the Average Hourly Earnings, held steady at 3.7%, compared to the market expectation of 3.6%.
"The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for November was revised down by 15,000, from +56,000 to +41,000, and the change for December was revised down by 2,000, from +50,000 to +48,000. With these revisions, employment in November and December combined is 17,000 lower than previously reported," the BLS noted in its press release.
Furthermore the BLS announced the changes in 2025 employment figures after finalizing annual benchmark revisions:
"The seasonally adjusted total nonfarm employment level for March 2025 was revised downward by 898,000. On a not seasonally adjusted basis, the total nonfarm employment level for March 2025 was revised downward by 862,000, or -0.5 percent. Not seasonally adjusted, the absolute average benchmark revision over the prior 10 years is 0.2 percent. The change in total nonfarm employment for 2025 was revised from +584,000 to +181,000."
Market reaction to Nonfarm Payrolls data
The US Dollar (USD) gathered strength against its major rivals with the immediate reaction. At the time of press, the USD Index was up 0.35% on the day at 97.23.
Nonfarm Payrolls are expected to rise by 70K in January.
The Unemployment Rate is seen holding steady at 4.4%.
The employment report could influence the Fed policy outlook and the US Dollar valuation.
The United States (US) Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will release the delayed Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data for January on Wednesday at 13:30 GMT.