FX.co ★ US Jobless Rate Falls to 4.3% in January

The US unemployment rate edged down to 4.3% in January 2026 from 4.4% in December, slightly below market expectations of 4.4%. The number of unemployed people fell by 141,000 to 7.36 million, while total employment increased by 528,000 to 164.52 million. The labor force grew by 387,000 to 171.88 million, pushing the labor force participation rate up 0.1 percentage point to 62.5%. At the same time, the broader U-6 measure of unemployment—which captures discouraged workers and those employed part-time for economic reasons—declined to 8.0% from 8.4% in the prior month.