Big Take Finally, Some Good News on US Jobs
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Feb 11, 2026 Molly Smith, Bloomberg U.S. economy editor who analyzes labor-market data, breaks down January’s surprisingly strong jobs print and why annual revisions rewrote 2025 hiring. She explains sector winners like health care, reconciles big tech layoffs with aggregate data, and teases how payrolls, GDP, wages and Fed policy all interact.
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January Shows Labor Market Stabilizing
- The U.S. economy added 130,000 jobs in January and the unemployment rate fell to 4.3 percent.
- That suggests the 2026 labor market could be stronger than economists expected.
2025 Job Growth Revised Sharply Down
- Revisions show 2025 averaged only 15,000 jobs per month versus the initially reported 49,000.
- That means last year’s labor market was essentially anemic, not robust.
Health Care Drove Most Job Gains
- Health care accounted for the bulk of hiring, with the most jobs added since 2020.
- Broader industry hiring remains limited, though manufacturing showed signs of gains.