Jobs report lands with surprising 130,000 positions added to US economy last month

The U.S. economy added 130,000 new jobs last month, according to a federal report released Wednesday, surpassing economists’ expectations.

While the national unemployment rate remained near four-year highs at 4.3 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported job growth exceeded the 55,000 new positions predicted by economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal.

The economy added 80,000 more jobs than it did in December and marked the first time since April 2025 that more than 100,000 jobs were added in one month, according to the bureau.

The health care industry added 82,000 jobs month-on-month, with 50,000 of those coming in ambulatory health care services, according to the report. Social assistance jobs grew by 42,000, and construction saw an increase of 33,000.

Jobs in the federal government fell by 34,000, while the financial activities industry lost 22,000 jobs.

Employment figures didn’t change much in retail trade, leisure and hospitality, transportation and warehousing, and oil and gas extraction, the bureau noted.

The jobs report is a bright spot for President Donald Trump in an area that has been a thorn in the side of his administration for several months. Job growth was sluggish in November and December, and the economy lost 105,000 jobs in October.

Wednesday’s positive report may come as a surprise to even the Trump administration.

Peter Navarro, the White House’s senior trade adviser, seemed to expect that around 50,000 jobs added per month was the new standard during an interview Tuesday on Fox Business’s Mornings With Maria.

“We have to revise our expectations down significantly for what a monthly job number should look like,” Navarro said. “So, now, 50,000 a month is going to be more like what we need.”

Trump took to social media site Truth Social on Wednesday to laud the report.

“Just in: GREAT JOBS NUMBERS, FAR GREATER THAN EXPECTED,” he posted.