The US labor market began 2026 at a surprisingly strong pace, while newly released benchmark revisions show that job growth in 2025 was considerably weaker than previously reported. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 130,000 jobs in January, and the unemployment rate edged down to 4.3%. January’s job gains were concentrated on health care, social assistance, and construction, while federal government and financial activities experienced job losses. …Excluding recession years (2008, 2009, and 2020), 2025 now stands as the weakest year of employment growth since 2003. Wage growth was unchanged in January, with average hourly earnings rising 3.7% year-over-year. This pace is 0.3 percentage points lower than a year ago. Importantly, wage growth has been outpacing inflation for nearly two years, which typically occurs as productivity increases.