Employers added fewer jobs in January — but the labor market overall remains healthy

Employers added fewer jobs in January than in the previous two months as cold weather gripped much of the country.

A report from the Labor Department on Friday showed employers added 143,000 jobs last month, a significant downshift from December, when revised figures show employers added more than twice that number.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate dipped to 4% in January, from 4.1% the month before.

Job gains last month were concentrated in retail, health care and government. Construction and manufacturing showed little job growth in January, while bars and restaurants cut about 16,000 jobs.

The Labor Department says neither the Los Angeles wildfires nor severe winter weather elsewhere appeared to have much effect on the job market.

Over the last three months, employers have added an average of 237,000 jobs per month. That solid growth, combined with the low unemployment rate, suggests the Federal Reserve will feel little pressure to lower interest rates any time soon.

The size of the workforce is bigger than previously thought

Average wages in January were up 4.1% from a year ago, which is likely more than enough to outpace inflation. Wages have been climbing faster than prices now for the better part of two years.

Friday’s report also included a routine, annual revision to previous job figures, based on more complete data from state tax records. The revision shows that employers added about 2.3 million jobs in the 12 months ending in March of last year. That’s 589,000 fewer than initially reported.

The Labor Department also revised its population estimate sharply upward, to account for higher immigration in the last two years. The change boosted the estimated size of the workforce by 2.1 million. A large influx of foreign-born workers has enabled employers to continue adding jobs at a robust pace.

However, economists say that could change, given the strict new limits on immigration imposed by the Trump administration.