Private sector employment increased by just 22,000 jobs in January, according to the latest ADP National Employment Report.
Education and health services gained jobs, while professional services and manufacturing jobs declined:
On a positive note, the education and health services sector added 74,000 jobs.
14,000 jobs were added in the financial activities sector.
The construction sector added 9,000 jobs, while the trade, transportation and utilities sector added 4,000 jobs.
Professional and business services declined by 57,000 jobs.
Manufacturing employment declined by 8,000. (ADP noted that the manufacturing sector has “lost jobs every month since March 2024.”)
Job gains and losses by region and establishment size:
The Northeast and Midwest regions gained jobs of 17,000 and 25,000 respectively, while losses were seen in the South (-10,000) and West (-11,000) regions.
Medium sized establishments (50-499 employees) saw gains of 41,000, while larger employers saw job losses (-18,000).
Annual pay was up 4.5% for job-stayers:
Job-stayers saw pay increase 4.5% in January, while "annualized pay growth slowed to 6.4 percent from 6.6 percent" for job-changers.
Job creation took a step back in 2025, with private employers adding 398,000 jobs, down from 771,000 in 2024. While we've seen a continuous and dramatic slowdown in job creation for the past three years, wage growth has remained stable."
Read more via ADP
NOTE: The ADP Employment Report and the Bureau of Labor Statistics Jobs Report utilize different data, and therefore provide differing reports. ADP's report includes only private sector data.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is delaying the publication of January's jobs report “due to the partial government shutdown.”
The January jobs report was scheduled to have been published on February 6.
It's not the first time in recent months the agency has delayed a jobs report. The BLS delayed "a number of its routine releases" during last year's government shutdown and "was just catching up from that incident."
Economists had expected January's jobs report to “show an increase of 55,000 jobs.”
The Employment Situation release for January 2026 will not be released as scheduled on Friday, February 6, 2026. The release will be rescheduled upon the resumption of government funding."
Read more via CNBC, Bloomberg
The U.S. labor market is "now showing hard-to-ignore cracks," according to the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary (JOLTS) published last week by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Job openings "plunged" in December:
The JOLTS report shows openings declined by 386,000, to 6.5 million, in December.
The job openings rate fell to 3.9%, a drop from its "most recent peak of 4.6% … back in September."
Job openings declined in professional and business services (-257,000), retail trade (-195,000), and finance and insurance (-120,000).
The number of job openings was “down by 966,000 over the year.”
Hiring showed some improvement:
Hiring "ticked up to 3.3%," a small improvement, but "still consistent with the sluggish hiring last seen in the early 2010s."
Hiring increased in real estate and rental and leasing (+38,000) and in state and local government, excluding education (+36,000).
Quits and layoffs were "little changed":
Quits and layoffs came in "little changed" in December, at 3.2 million and 1.8 million, respectively.
The quits rate came in at 2.0%, while the layoffs and discharges rate was 1.1%, both unchanged.
The number of November job openings was revised downward:
The total number of November job openings was “revised down by 218,000 to 6.9 million.”
The jobs market is starting to show hard-to-ignore cracks."
Read more via Bureau of Labor Statistics, Axios
U.S. employers announced well over 100,000 job cuts in January, a more than 100% increase over January 2025, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
U.S. employers announced 108,435 job cuts in January 2026, up 118% from January 2025 and up 205% from cuts announced in December.
The number of layoffs announced last month is the highest January layoff total since 2009.
January job cuts were highest in the transportation sector, "primarily due to an announcement from UPS."
More than 22,000 job cuts were announced in the tech sector, the "bulk" of which were at Amazon.
Generally, we see a high number of job cuts in the first quarter, but this is a high total for January. It means most of these plans were set at the end of 2025, signaling employers are less-than-optimistic about the outlook for 2026."
The healthcare sector announced more than 17,000 cuts in January, the "most for the industry since April 2020."
Reasons cited for job cuts included contract loss, market and economic conditions, restructuring and department closings. AI was cited for just 7,600 job cuts, or 7% of January's total.
Read more via CNBC, Challenger, Gray & Christmas
Canada: Blue-collar workers in Montreal went on strike last week "after contract talks with city hall stalled over wages." Approximately 6,000 workers represented by CUPE Local 301 staged "the union’s first strike in about 17 years." The union's contract expired in late 2024, and negotiations have been ongoing, with wages as the "main point of contention." (Montreal Gazette)
New Zealand: The unemployment rate increased to 5.4% in the fourth quarter of 2025, the “highest level since 2015.” Unemployment had reached 5.3% in the third quarter and economists “had expected the jobless rate to remain at 5.3%.” (The Wall Street Journal)
Switzerland: Job openings increased 2.4% in the fourth quarter of 2025 compared to the fourth quarter of 2024, according to Adecco’s Swiss Job Market Index. The uptick in job openings “suggests a possible stabilization” of Switzerland’s labor market “despite economic headwinds.” (SIA)
United Kingdom: Almost one-third (31%) of UK workers ranked pension contributions and unlimited time off as the “most sought-after employee benefits.” For workers over the age of 55, 40% of respondents are prioritizing “increased pension contributions.” (SIA)
