U.S. unemployment rate ticked lower in January – RBC Economics

The exceptional run of U.S. labour market strength persisted in January, RBC Economics’ Senior Economist Claire Fan notes.

US unemployment rate drops to 4%

“The exceptional run of U.S. labour market strength persisted in January, even with a small miss in payroll employment gain (143k vs. consensus 170k) and large and negative backward benchmark revisions to the level of payroll employment.”

“The unemployment rate dropped to 4% (and would have been 3.9% without annual adjustments to the population controls) and wage growth among private sectors remained elevated.”

“Today's report confirms our expectations that a stable and strong U.S. jobs market does not need support from further Fed rate cuts. We continue to expect the central bank will hold Fed Funds steady at the current 4.25% - 4.5% range throughout 2025.”