Wednesday’s release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has the economic world doing a double-take. The numbers reflect great news for the economy and will go far in the Trump administration’s push to show how his policies are creating affordability for all Americans.
Job growth was stronger than expected to start 2026, providing some relief to concerns about the state of the U.S. labor market.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 130,000 for January, above the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 55,000, according to seasonally adjusted figures the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Wednesday. The total also was an improvement over December, which saw a gain of 48,000 after a slight downward revision.
The unemployment rate edged lower to 4.3%, below the forecast to stay unchanged at 4.4% from the prior month. A more encompassing measure that includes discouraged workers and those holding part-time positions for economic reasons slipped to 8%, down 0.4 percentage point from December.
The White House Deputy Press Secretary, Kush Desai, was on top of the messaging, issuing this release.
Today’s blockbuster, expectation-shattering jobs report proves that President Trump’s economic agenda continues to pay off. The unemployment rate fell and private sector job growth remains robust — particularly for specialty trade construction jobs as the trillions in investments secured by the President pour into American manufacturing. With new revisions showing that the Biden jobs market was even worse than expected, President Trump continues to turn the page on the Biden disaster by rightsizing federal employment to the lowest level since 1966 and turbocharging economic growth.
Then he smartly tied the BLS numbers to the effectiveness of Trump’s economic policies.
The economy added 172,000 new private sector jobs and shed 42,000 government jobs — bringing the unemployment rate down to 4.3%.
As President Trump’s agenda takes effect, factory groundbreakings and data centers are leading to more construction jobs — with construction employment up 33,000 in January, including 25,000 new jobs in the nonresidential specialty trades (the highest monthly change in five years).
January’s 130,000 new nonfarm jobs is the best month of job growth yet, signaling President Trump’s pro-growth policies are starting to deliver real momentum in the labor market.
In President Trump’s second term, 615,000 private sector jobs have been added while federal employment has declined to its lowest level since 1966 — and the lowest level in recorded history as a share of the total workforce.
President Donald Trump also took to Truth Social to reinforce his affordability message.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 11, 2026
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These numbers also have eyes popping out across the financial networks. On Fox Business’ Mornings with Maria, financial contributor and Fox Nation anchor Cheryl Casone was quite surprised at the numbers for private payrolls:
WATCH:
.@cherylcasone reacts to the January jobs report: “Private payrolls — 172,000. I had to do a double take! 172,000 private jobs. Guys, that’s 100,000 ABOVE the estimate. We were looking for 70,000.” ? pic.twitter.com/DI9SzX1lOP
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 11, 2026
.@cherylcasone reacts to the January jobs report: “Private payrolls — 172,000. I had to do a double take! 172,000 private jobs. Guys, that’s 100,000 ABOVE the estimate. We were looking for 70,000.”
Why is this good news for the Trump administration and average Americans?
- Labor force participation numbers are UP: More people are actually working and pursuing work. As opposed to the Biden years where people stopped looking for employment.
- Unemployment is DOWN: This reflects not just people at work, but tighter restrictions on UI benefits and greater focus on job retraining/reincorporation into the workforce.
- Underemployment is DOWN: More people who want full-time work are finding it, and more people are working within their skill sets.
- Private sector is seeing a BOOM: Small businesses and privately-held corporations are creating more jobs and doing more hiring.
- Government sector is seeing a BUST: A key indicator that this statist apparatus is being streamlined, reduced, and in some cases, completely dismantled.
?Job growth surged in January, adding 172,000 private-sector jobs – smashing expectations.
✅Private sector employment rose 615,000 in President Trump’s first year in office, while federal employment declined to its lowest level since 1966.
❌The labor market under Joe Biden… https://t.co/42eu57v78Q
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) February 11, 2026
Private sector employment rose 615,000 in President Trump’s first year in office, while federal employment declined to its lowest level since 1966.
❌The labor market under Joe Biden was even weaker than we thought with job growth over Biden’s final 2 years being overstated by a whopping 1.9 million jobs.
According to the BLS, the top areas of job growth were healthcare, social assistance, and construction. Healthcare seems to stay on top, but with the restructuring of the health industrial complex being done by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., we may see that change in the next few months. Social assistance is reflective of the Baby Boom population moving into their elder years and requiring and desiring more of these services. But construction? That’s the biggest story. After the regulatory suppression during the Biden administration, along with illegal immigration and companies like BlackRock driving up rental prices, the fact that this sector is seeing a breakthrough is quite telling. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt spotlighted some of this in her X post on the BLS report, confirming that national median rents are at a four-year low and affordable mortgages are now a thing.
The positive economic news continues to pour in under President Trump:
✅The Dow Jones Industrial Average surpassed the 50,000 level for the first time ever last week.
✅National median rents are now at a four-year low, declining for the sixth consecutive month.
✅Mortgage… https://t.co/tcWxhgt6uP
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) February 11, 2026
The positive economic news continues to pour in under President Trump:
✅The Dow Jones Industrial Average surpassed the 50,000 level for the first time ever last week.
✅National median rents are now at a four-year low, declining for the sixth consecutive month.
✅Mortgage affordability has surged to a four-year high following President Trump’s bold action to make homeownership affordable again.
✅U.S. manufacturing activity expanded in January at the fastest pace since 2022, driven by growth in new orders and production.
✅Consumer sentiment is now at a six-month high.
✅Third quarter GDP was revised upwards to 4.4% growth, showing that President Trump’s economy is even stronger than originally estimated.
✅Gas prices are averaging roughly 20 cents lower than last year.
✅In 17 of the top 20 metro areas with the largest illegal migrant populations, home list prices declined year-over-year in January.
✅American truckers and construction workers — both industries with high numbers of foreign-born workers — have reported large increases in pay as blue-collar wages grow at the fastest clip in decades.
✅President Trump ended Biden’s inflation crisis. Since President Trump took office, headline inflation has been running at 2.4% annualized (much lower than the 3% annual rate inherited from Biden) and core inflation has been running at 2.4% annualized (much lower than the 3.3% annual rate inherited from Biden).
✅President Trump launched TrumpRx, a transformative new government platform that gives Americans direct access to dramatically lower prices on common, high-cost prescription drugs.
✅President Trump has secured trillions in private and foreign investments that are fueling job growth, innovation, and opportunity across every corner of the country.
For those who enjoy the nitty-gritty, this CNBC anchor is quite excited to give them to you.
WATCH:
NEW: Job growth SURGED in January, adding 130,000 total non-farm jobs and 172,000 private sector jobs — shattering expectations once again.
The unemployment rate fell. Wages grew. Federal employment is now at its lowest level since 1966.
This is the Trump Economy ??? pic.twitter.com/JxyUYGE1c9
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 11, 2026
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and bold policies, America’s economy is back on track.
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