The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its delayed January
employment / unemployment report on February 11th, 2026.
Employment / Unemployment
- Seasonally Adjusted U3- 4.3% in January
- Unadjusted U3- 4.6% up from 4.1% in December
- Unadjusted U6- 8.7% up from 8.2% in December
- Labor Force Participation Rate- 62.5%
- Employment- 156.714 million in January
- December Adjusted Employment #: 159.448 million
- Originally Released Employment- 160.448 million in December
- Average BLS January Adjustment since 2000: -2.8 million
- Next data release March 6, 2026
Summary:
Every February, the BLS adjusts its employment numbers. The average adjustment since 2000 has been a reduction of -2.8 million previously reported jobs. This year was no exception with a reduction of -3.7 million based on the originally released numbers.
Here is the BLS Commissioner’s explanation:
“In accordance with annual practice, the establishment survey data released today have been benchmarked to reflect comprehensive counts of payroll jobs for March 2025. 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 2024 forward. Seasonally adjusted data from January 2021 forward are subject to revision. In addition, data for some series prior to 2021, both seasonally adjusted and unadjusted, incorporate other revisions.”
Despite the massive annual adjustment in employment, and the rise of Unadjusted U3 from 4.1% to 4.6% the Commissioner reported:
“Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 130,000 in January, and the unemployment rate changed little at 4.3 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in health care, social assistance, and construction, while federal government and financial activities lost jobs…
Both the unemployment rate, at 4.3 percent, and the number of unemployed people, at 7.4 million, changed little in January. These measures are higher than a year earlier, when the jobless rate was 4.0 percent, and the number of unemployed people was 6.9 million.
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for teenagers declined to 13.6 percent in January. The jobless rates for adult men (3.8 percent), adult women (4.0 percent), and people who are White (3.7 percent), Black (7.2 percent), Asian (4.1 percent), or Hispanic (4.7 percent) showed little change over the month.”
As always, the Commissioner is talking about adjusted “Household Survey” numbers. Establishment Survey numbers tell a different story. Typically, January is one of the highest unemployment months, which explains the large differential between the adjusted and unadjusted numbers.
[Read more…] about February Employment Report for January 2026