Labor Department releases closely watched January jobs report
The U.S. economy added jobs at a slower pace than expected in January, as the Federal Reserve remains in a holding pattern for interest rate cuts as it evaluates the labor market and inflation data.
The Labor Department on Friday reported that employers added 143,000 jobs in January, below the estimate from LSEG economists.
The unemployment rate came in at 4%, lower than economists' expectations.
The number of jobs added in the prior two months were both revised, with job creation in November revised up by 49,000 from a gain of 212,000 to 261,000; while December was revised up by 51,000 from a gain of 256,000 to 307,000. Taken together, 100,000 more jobs were created in those two months than previously reported.