THE FOLLOW UP
Feb 11, 2026 · whitehouse.gov
Important News

White House: January jobs report shows private-sector growth, wage gains, and revised past-job estimates

Interesting: 0/0 • Support: 0/0Log in to vote
Read original articleBack to Feed

Key takeaways

  • January private-sector employment rose by 172,000 while government employment fell by 42,000; the reported unemployment rate is 4.3%.
  • January added 130,000 new nonfarm jobs—the White House called it the best month of job growth so far in the term.
  • Construction employment increased by 33,000 in January, including 25,000 jobs in nonresidential specialty trades (the largest monthly change in five years).
  • Average weekly earnings for private-sector employees rose 0.7% in January; the administration reports 4.3% growth in average weekly earnings and 3.7% growth in average hourly earnings during President Trump’s second term so far.
  • The White House says job-growth revisions show Biden’s final two years were overstated by about 1.9 million jobs from initial releases to current estimates.
  • The administration credited President Trump’s policies and investments—citing factory groundbreakings and data centers—as driving the labor-market gains.
  • The White House said nearly all economists surveyed by Bloomberg had predicted fewer new jobs than were reported for January.

Follow Up Questions

What specific data source and agency produced the jobs and unemployment figures cited in the article?Expand

The figures come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Employment Situation news release, which reports results from two surveys: the Current Employment Statistics (CES, establishment/payroll survey) and the Current Population Survey (CPS, household survey).

Sources
How are jobs "revisions" calculated, who performs those revisions, and why can initial estimates change by large amounts like 1.9 million jobs?Expand

BLS performs revisions. Monthly preliminary CES estimates are revised in the two succeeding months as late returns and recalculated seasonal factors arrive; once a year BLS benchmarks the CES to near-complete Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) UI tax records and updates the birth–death model and seasonal factors—changes that can materially alter historical totals and produce large cumulative revisions.

Sources
What does "prime-age labor force participation" mean exactly, and which age range does it cover?Expand

"Prime‑age labor force participation" refers to the labor‑force participation rate for prime‑age people—commonly defined as ages 25–54—i.e., the share of 25–54‑year‑olds who are employed or actively looking for work.

Sources
How is "federal employment" defined in the article, and what measurement shows it is at its lowest level since 1966?Expand

In the article "federal employment" refers to BLS’s CES series for federal (government) payroll employment. The BLS CES tables show federal employment levels and the release noted federal payrolls fell (and were the smallest since the mid‑1960s by some measures); agency-level, historical counts are also published by OPM. The specific BLS measure cited is the CES federal‑employees series (All Employees, Federal).

Sources
Are the January job and wage figures independently reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) or another nonpartisan source, and do third-party analysts corroborate the White House’s interpretation?Expand

Yes — the January payrolls, unemployment rate, and earnings are published by the nonpartisan Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Independent third‑party analysts (news outlets and economists) broadly reported and discussed the same BLS numbers, though they may differ in interpretation of causes and the White House’s political framing. (BLS is the official source.)

Sources
What specific policies, investments, or programs does the White House point to as causing the factory groundbreakings and data-center projects referenced in the article?Expand

The White House points to President Trump’s economic agenda and private investments it says followed from it — citing factory groundbreakings and data‑center projects — but the White House release does not list specific federal policies or programs tied directly to each project. For official details on project incentives you must check agency announcements (e.g., Commerce, DOE, Treasury, state/local permits) or company press releases; the White House statement itself names general policy themes (tax cuts, deregulation, investment promotion) but not discrete programs tied to the cited groundbreakings.

Sources
Which Bloomberg economist survey is referenced, what was the consensus forecast for January job growth, and how large was the difference between that forecast and the reported number?Expand

The article cites a Bloomberg economist survey; Bloomberg’s labor‑market survey (Bloomberg/ECON or Bloomberg survey of economists) showed a consensus forecast of fewer jobs. Bloomberg’s published coverage of the January report gave a median/consensus forecast around the mid‑60,000s (roughly ~66,000), while actual payrolls were 130,000 — about 60–70k higher than the consensus. (See Bloomberg coverage and BLS release for the reported 130,000 figure.)

Sources

Comments

Only logged-in users can comment.
Loading…