U.S. gained 130,000 jobs last month, but labor market growth stalled in 2025

The U.S. economy experienced almost zero job growth in 2025, according to revised federal data. On a more encouraging note: Hiring has picked up in 2026.

Preliminary data had indicated that the U.S. economy added 584,000 jobs last year. But the Bureau of Labor Statistics revised that number after it received additional state data and found that the labor market had added 181,000 jobs in all of 2025.

This is far fewer than the 1.46 million jobs that were added in 2024.

One bright spot was last month, when hiring increased by 130,000 roles. This was significantly more than the 55,000 additions that had been expected by economists.

“Job gains occurred in health care, social assistance, and construction, while federal government and financial activities lost jobs,” BLS said in a statement

Wednesday’s reports further complicate the task for President Donald Trump and Republicans as they attempt to craft an economic narrative going into the 2026 midterm elections. Polls show that the president’s approval rating on the economy has declined, while consumer sentiment has been poor, particularly around the jobs market.

Manufacturing, a key industry targeted for growth by the Trump administration, was among the industries that saw “little change” in January, the agency said. Still, factory jobs rose 5,000 in the month, for their first increase since January 2024. Analysts expected a contraction.

The health care sector was the largest contributor to job gains in January, adding a net 137,000 jobs. Over the course of the last year, that sector has been the driving force behind job gains.

The leisure and hospitality sector added only 1,000 jobs in January, which many economists have described in recent months as something that would be a red flag given how reliant the industry is on consumer spending.

The unemployment rate fell from 4.4% to 4.3% in January.

Still, Wednesday’s report also shows that not nearly as many jobs were added in 2025 as thought and last year will go down as the worst year for hiring since 2020, or since 2003 outside of a recession.

Additionally, the BLS subtracted 862,000 jobs from March 2024 through March 2025 as part of its annual revisions.

For 2025, Wednesday’s revisions show that the labor market contracted during four months — January, June, August and October. Previously, data showed a net loss of jobs in only three months.

The average revisions to U.S. jobs data have been steeper in the years since 2020 than they were before the pandemic. Economists and analysts largely attribute this to a shift in labor market dynamics and survey response rates.

The massive revisions down were not entirely unexpected, however. BLS previously projected a downward revision of 911,000 for 2024-2025.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell also said recently that last year’s hiring numbers were likely too rosy.

“We think there’s an overstatement in these numbers by about 60,000, so that would be negative 20,000 per month,” Powell said in a Dec. 10 news conference.

“I think you can say that the labor market has continued to cool gradually, maybe just a touch more gradually than we thought,” he continued.

For investors, Wednesday’s report could indicate that the labor market is finding its footing and stabilizing but comes after three straight months of rocky numbers.

Given that the report still lacks the crystal-clear clarity that investors and the Fed are seeking, Treasury bonds fell in early trading Wednesday and their yields rose. The futures markets indicated that traders don’t see much of a chance of a rate cut until July at the earliest.