US JOB GROWTH SURGES IN JANUARY, BUT LABOR MARKET FAR FROM TURNING AROUND

U.S. job growth unexpectedly accelerated in January and the unemployment rate fell to 4.3%, signs of labor market stability that could give the Federal Reserve room to keep interest rates unchanged for some time while policymakers monitor inflation.

But the largest increase in payrolls in 13 months reported by the Labor Department on Wednesday likely exaggerates the labor market's health, as revisions showed the economy added only 181,000 jobs in 2025 instead of the previously estimated 584,000. That is a fraction of the 1.459 million jobs added in 2024, the final full year of former President Joe Biden's term.

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