Mark your calendars: the much-anticipated January jobs report, which was postponed due to a brief government shutdown, is set to be released on February 11. This announcement was made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Wednesday, and it comes as welcome news to many who rely on this data for insights into the economy.
Originally scheduled to come out five days earlier, this critical report will now follow a revised timeline, as detailed in their updated schedule (https://www.bls.gov/bls/2025-lapse-revised-release-dates.htm).
But wait, there’s more! The BLS has also shifted the release date for the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey to Thursday, instead of its planned Tuesday date. These adjustments are part of a broader ripple effect caused by the shutdown.
In addition to these updates, the consumer price index for January has been pushed back to February 13, which is two days later than initially expected. Alongside this, the accompanying report that assesses real earnings will also be delayed by the same timeframe.
Economists who were surveyed by Dow Jones are predicting that the upcoming nonfarm payrolls report will indicate an increase of 60,000 jobs for January, building on the prior month's growth of 50,000 positions. Moreover, it is anticipated that the unemployment rate will remain consistent at 4.4%.
In a related update, payroll processing company ADP revealed earlier on Wednesday that only 22,000 jobs were added by businesses in January (https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/04/adp-jobs-report-january-2026.html). This figure has raised eyebrows and could spark discussions regarding the overall health of the job market.
So, what do you think about these shifts in employment data? Will the delays impact your view of the economic situation? And with such a discrepancy between the ADP numbers and economists' expectations, how do you interpret the current job landscape?
