January Jobs Report Expected to Show Slower Hiring, Steady Unemployment

At 8:30 AM ET on Friday the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the U.S. labor market expansion data. There will be a change in the format of the data to indicate the slowing down of labor market growth in the U.S. according to the figures. As per Refinitiv’s poll analysis, the unemployment numbers expect an increase in roughly 170,000 jobs in January that is slightly lower than December’s 256,000 reading. The unemployment rate remains unchanged in the next few months, according to Bloomberg.

The employment numbers for December surpassed all expectations when the unemployment rate fell from 4.2% to 4.1%. Lydia Boussour at EY envisions payrolls augmenting by 190,000 positions in January as more muted activity continues to shape the labor market basis. Despite the hardship of tariffs, the market is still believed to be hopeful as is noted in this report.

The labor market data brought out less mobility in the market, nevertheless, the whole economic growth still seems to be unfolding. EGL declines by the most since October 2023 with the most substantial and the quickest decline in the job openings. Meanwhile, the hiring rate of the companies remained at the level of 3.4%, and the workers kept their quitting rate of 2%. Private employers hired 183,000 employees in January according to ADP data which was up from 176,000 employees added in December.

In a recent remark, Chair Powell declared that the employment situation remains steady during his remarks indicating Friday’s report will not alter the Fed’s strategy.

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