Transmission of material in this news release is embargoed until USDL-25-0133
8:30 a.m. (ET) Friday, February 7, 2025
Technical information:
Household data: (202) 691-6378 * cpsinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/cps
Establishment data: (202) 691-6555 * cesinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/ces
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION -- JANUARY 2025
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 143,000 in January, and the unemployment rate edged
down to 4.0 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred
in health care, retail trade, and social assistance. Employment declined in the mining,
quarrying, and oil and gas extraction industry.
This news release presents statistics from two monthly surveys. The household survey measures
labor force status, including unemployment, by demographic characteristics. The establishment
survey measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry. For more information
about the concepts and statistical methodology used in these two surveys, see the Technical
Note.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Changes to The Employment Situation Data |
| |
| Establishment survey data have been revised as a result of the annual benchmarking |
| process and the updating of seasonal adjustment factors. Also, household survey data |
| for January 2025 reflect updated population estimates. See the notes at the end of this |
| news release for more information. |
|____________________________________________________________________________________________|
Household Survey Data
The unemployment rate edged down to 4.0 percent in January, after accounting for the annual
adjustments to the population controls. The number of unemployed people, at 6.8 million,
changed little over the month. (See table A-1. See the note at the end of this news release
and tables B and C for more information about annual population adjustments to the household
survey estimates.)
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (3.7 percent), adult women
(3.7 percent), teenagers (11.8 percent), Whites (3.5 percent), Blacks (6.2 percent), Asians
(3.7 percent), and Hispanics (4.8 percent) showed little or no change in January. (See tables
A-1, A-2, and A-3.)
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more), at 1.4 million,
changed little in January. The long-term unemployed accounted for 21.1 percent of all
unemployed people. (See table A-12.)
In January, both the labor force participation rate (62.6 percent) and the employment-
population ratio (60.1 percent) were unchanged, after accounting for the annual adjustments
to the population controls. Both measures have been relatively flat in recent months. (See
table A-1. For additional information about the effects of the population adjustments, see
table C.)
The number of people employed part time for economic reasons, at 4.5 million, changed little
in January. These individuals would have preferred full-time employment but were working part
time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs. (See
table A-8.)
The number of people not in the labor force who currently want a job, at 5.5 million, was
little changed in January. These individuals were not counted as unemployed because they were
not actively looking for work during the 4 weeks preceding the survey or were unavailable to
take a job. (See table A-1.)
Among those not in the labor force who wanted a job, the number of people marginally attached
to the labor force, at 1.6 million, was essentially unchanged in January. These individuals
wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months
but had not looked for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. The number of discouraged
workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were available for
them, changed little at 592,000 in January. (See Summary table A.)
Establishment Survey Data
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 143,000 in January, similar to the average monthly
gain of 166,000 in 2024. In January, job gains occurred in health care, retail trade, and
social assistance. Employment declined in the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction
industry. (See table B-1. See the note at the end of this news release and table A for more
information about the annual benchmark process.)
Health care added 44,000 jobs in January, with gains in hospitals (+14,000), nursing and
residential care facilities (+13,000), and home health care services (+11,000). Job growth in
health care averaged 57,000 per month in 2024.
Employment in retail trade increased by 34,000 in January. Job gains occurred in general
merchandise retailers (+31,000) and furniture and home furnishings retailers (+5,000).
Electronics and appliance retailers lost 7,000 jobs. Retail trade employment had shown little
net change in 2024.
Social assistance added 22,000 jobs in January, led by individual and family services
(+20,000). Employment also rose in the community food and housing, emergency, and other relief
services industry (+4,000). Employment in social assistance grew by an average of 20,000 per
month in 2024.
Government employment continued to trend up in January (+32,000), similar to the average
monthly gain in 2024 (+38,000).
Employment in the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction industry declined by 8,000
over the month, following little net change in 2024. In January, the job loss was concentrated
in support activities for mining (-8,000).
Employment showed little change over the month in other major industries, including
construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, information,
financial activities, professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and other
services.
In January, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 17
cents, or 0.5 percent, to $35.87. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have
increased by 4.1 percent. In January, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and
nonsupervisory employees rose by 16 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $30.84. (See tables B-3 and B-8.)
The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged down by 0.1 hour to
34.1 hours in January. In manufacturing, the average workweek was little changed at 40.0 hours,
and overtime was unchanged at 2.8 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory
employees on private nonfarm payrolls decreased by 0.2 hour to 33.5 hours. (See tables B-2 and
B-7.)
The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for November was revised up by 49,000, from
+212,000 to +261,000, and the change for December was revised up by 51,000, from +256,000 to
+307,000. With these revisions, employment in November and December combined is 100,000 higher
than previously reported. (Monthly revisions result from additional reports received from
businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates and from the
recalculation of seasonal factors. The annual benchmark process also contributed to the
November and December revisions.)
_____________
The Employment Situation for February is scheduled to be released on Friday, March 7, 2025,
at 8:30 a.m. (ET).
Revisions to Establishment Survey Data
In accordance with annual practice, the establishment survey data released today have been
benchmarked to reflect comprehensive counts of payroll jobs for March 2024. These counts are
derived principally from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), which counts
jobs covered by the Unemployment Insurance (UI) tax system. The benchmark process results in
revisions to not seasonally adjusted data from April 2023 forward. Seasonally adjusted data
from January 2020 forward are subject to revision. In addition, data for some series prior to
2020, both seasonally adjusted and unadjusted, incorporate other revisions.
The seasonally adjusted total nonfarm employment level for March 2024 was revised downward by
589,000. On a not seasonally adjusted basis, the total nonfarm employment level for March 2024
was revised downward by 598,000, or -0.4 percent. Not seasonally adjusted, the absolute average
benchmark revision over the past 10 years is 0.1 percent.
The over-the-year change in total nonfarm employment for March 2024 was revised from +2,900,000
to +2,346,000 (seasonally adjusted). Table A presents revised total nonfarm employment data on
a seasonally adjusted basis from January to December 2024.
All revised historical establishment survey data are available on the BLS website at
www.bls.gov/ces/data/home.htm. In addition, an article that discusses the benchmark and post-
benchmark revisions and other technical issues is available at
www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cesbmart.htm.
Table A. Revisions to total nonfarm employment, January to December 2024, seasonally adjusted
(Numbers in thousands)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| |
| Level | Over-the-month change
|---------------------------------------------------------------------
Year and month | | As | | | As |
| As |previously | Difference| As |previously| Difference
| revised |published | | revised |published |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | | | | |
2024 | | | | | |
| | | | | |
January......... | 157,049 | 157,560 | -511 | 119 | 256 | -137
February........ | 157,271 | 157,796 | -525 | 222 | 236 | -14
March........... | 157,517 | 158,106 | -589 | 246 | 310 | -64
April........... | 157,635 | 158,214 | -579 | 118 | 108 | 10
May............. | 157,828 | 158,430 | -602 | 193 | 216 | -23
June............ | 157,915 | 158,548 | -633 | 87 | 118 | -31
July............ | 158,003 | 158,692 | -689 | 88 | 144 | -56
August.......... | 158,074 | 158,770 | -696 | 71 | 78 | -7
September....... | 158,314 | 159,025 | -711 | 240 | 255 | -15
October......... | 158,358 | 159,068 | -710 | 44 | 43 | 1
November........ | 158,619 | 159,280 | -661 | 261 | 212 | 49
December(p)..... | 158,926 | 159,536 | -610 | 307 | 256 | 51
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(p) = preliminary
Adjustments to Population Estimates for the Household Survey
Effective with data for January 2025, updated population estimates were incorporated into the
household survey. Population estimates for the household survey are developed by the U.S.
Census Bureau. Each year, the Census Bureau updates their population estimates to incorporate
new information and assumptions about the growth of the population since the most recent
population base year, typically the last decennial census. The change in population reflected
in the new estimates results from adjustments for net international migration, updated vital
statistics on births and deaths, and improvements in estimation methodology.
This year’s adjustment was large relative to adjustments in past years. It reflects both
updated methodology and new information about net international migration in recent years.
In accordance with usual practice, BLS did not revise the official household survey estimates
for December 2024 and earlier months. However, to show the impact of the population
adjustments, table B displays differences in selected December 2024 labor force series based
on the old and new population estimates.
Table B shows the adjustment increased the estimated size of the civilian noninstitutional
population age 16 and over in December by 2.9 million. The increases in population were
relatively large for Asians and Hispanics. The adjustment increased the total civilian labor
force by 2.1 million, including increases of 2.0 million in employment and 105,000 in
unemployment. The number of people not in the labor force increased by 765,000. Although the
effect on levels was relatively large, the effect on rates and ratios was small. The adjustment
increased the total unemployment rate, employment-population ratio, and labor force
participation rate by 0.1 percentage point each. The effects of the adjustment on these rates
for the major worker groups were also relatively small.
These annual population adjustments can affect the comparability of household data series over
time. Table C shows the effect of the introduction of new population estimates on the change
in selected labor force measures between December 2024 and January 2025. Additional information
on the population adjustments and their effects on national labor force estimates is available
at www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cps-pop-control-adjustments.pdf.
Although the official household survey estimates will not be revised, BLS will produce
experimental time series back to April 2020 for the total labor force and total employed that
account for the January 2025 population control effects. These experimental series will be
available in the CPS technical documentation shortly after the publication of this news release
on February 7, 2025, at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#pop.
Population controls for veterans have also been updated with the release of data for January
2025. These controls are derived from a Department of Veterans Affairs population model.
Historical data have not been revised.
Table B. Effect of the updated population controls on December 2024 estimates by sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, not seasonally adjusted
(Numbers in thousands)
| Category |
Total |
Men |
Women |
White |
Black or
African
Ameri-
can |
Asian |
Hispanic or
Latino
ethnicity |
Civilian noninstitutional population
| 2,871 |
1,470 |
1,400 |
1,419 |
392 |
844 |
1,277 |
Civilian labor force
| 2,106 |
1,156 |
949 |
1,088 |
276 |
581 |
928 |
Participation rate |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
Employed
| 2,000 |
1,096 |
904 |
1,040 |
257 |
558 |
877 |
Employment-population ratio
| 0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
Unemployed
| 105 |
59 |
45 |
48 |
20 |
24 |
52 |
Unemployment rate
| 0.1 |
0 |
0.1 |
0 |
0.1 |
0 |
0 |
Not in labor force
| 765 |
314 |
451 |
332 |
115 |
263 |
348 |
|
NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. Estimates for the above race groups (White, Black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races. People whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race.
|
Table C. December 2024-January 2025 changes in selected labor force measures, with adjustments for population control effects
(Numbers in thousands)
| Category |
Dec.-Jan.
change, as
published |
2025
population
control effect |
Dec.-Jan. change, after
removing the
population control
effect |
Civilian noninstitutional population
| 3,047 |
2,871 |
176 |
Civilian labor force
| 2,197 |
2,106 |
91 |
Participation rate |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0 |
Employed
| 2,234 |
2,000 |
234 |
Employment-population ratio
| 0.1 |
0.1 |
0 |
Unemployed
| -37 |
105 |
-142 |
Unemployment rate
| -0.1 |
0.1 |
-0.2 |
Not in labor force
| 850 |
765 |
85 |
|
NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
|
____________________________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Southern California Wildfires and Severe Winter Weather |
| |
| Wildfires in Southern California began in early January and continued through the |
| reference periods for both the household and establishment surveys. Severe winter weather |
| occurred in much of the country during the January reference periods for both surveys. |
| These events had no discernible effect on national payroll employment, hours, and earnings |
| from the establishment survey, nor on the national unemployment rate from the household |
| survey. Response rates for the two surveys were within normal ranges. For information on |
| how weather can affect data on employment and hours estimates, see the Frequently Asked |
| Questions section of this news release. |
|____________________________________________________________________________________________|
United States Department of Labor
