U.S. Added 143K Jobs in January, Fewer Than Forecast

Job growth in the U.S. fell short of expectations in January, however, unemployment came in lower than expected. The U.S. economy added 143,000 jobs in January, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday, below forecasts of 170,000 and down from 256,000 in December. The unemployment rate dropped to 4%, compared with an expected 4.1% and December’s 4.1%. Under pressure for the past several days, the price of bitcoin (BTC) initially rose to $97,500, while the DXY index rose to 107.8. The Fed cut its benchmark fed funds rate 100 basis points over the last four months of 2024, and investors weeks ago were expecting more of the same in 2025. A string of strong economic and inflation data since, however, has had the Fed quickly backtracking on its dovishness and traders pricing out the odds of any further policy ease. Prior to this morning's jobs numbers, CME FedWatch was showing just a 15% chance of a March rate cut.