January 2016 Employment Situation — 2016-02-05

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 151,000 in January, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 4.9 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in several industries, led by retail trade, food services and drinking places, health care, and manufacturing. Employment declined in private educational services, transportation and warehousing, and mining. Both the number of unemployed persons, at 7.8 million, and the unemployment rate, at 4.9 percent, changed little in January. Over the past 12 months, the number of unemployed persons and the unemployment rate were down by 1.1 million and 0.8 percentage point, respectively. (See table A-1. See the note at the end of this news release and tables B and C for information about annual population adjustments to the household survey estimates.) Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (4.5 percent) and Whites (4.3 percent) declined in January.