Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 143,000 in January 2025

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.

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). 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.

Within mining and logging, 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).

Government employment continued to trend up in January (+32,000), similar to the average monthly gain in 2024 (+38,000).

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.

These data are from the Current Employment Statistics program and are seasonally adjusted. Data for the most recent two months are preliminary. To learn more, see "The Employment Situation —  January 2025." We also have more charts of national employment, hours, and earnings data.