January hiring was narrow. Healthcare (44,000 new jobs), retail (34,000) and government (32,000) together accounted for 77% of new jobs last month. Mines shed 8,000 jobs. The Labor Department said the Los Angeles wildfires and a cold snap in the Northeast and Midwest had “no discernable″ impact on the January jobs numbers.

Friday’s report provided evidence of slowing expansion. The 143,000 jobs added would be the weakest January total since 2016. January is the ninth consecutive month of at least 4% unemployment, after the U.S. spent all of Feb. 2022 to April 2024 below that mark.