Economists had been expecting an overall healthy reading, with 169,000 net new jobs created in the month and the unemployment rate holding steady at 4.1%. The January report, which effectively closes the book on the Biden-era job market,

U.S. job growth likely slowed in January, partly restrained by wild fires in California and cold weather across much of the country, though not enough for the Federal Reserve to resume interest rate cuts before the end of the first half.

Job growth slowed in January to 143,000 positions, with the unemployment rate ticking down to 4%. The latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics offer a picture of the labor situation as Donald Trump takes office,