U.S. added stronger than expected 130,000 jobs in January, with unemployment rate falling to 4.3%

Markets Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email U.S. added stronger than expected 130,000 jobs in January, with unemployment rate falling to 4.3% Down sizably ahead of the jobs data, bitcoin rose modestly following the news. By Stephen Alpher Feb 11, 2026, 1:34 p.m. Make us preferred on Google U.S. January jobs data released Wednesday (CoinDesk/Helene Braun) U.S. jobs growth sizably strengthened in the first month of 2026. There were 130,000 jobs added in January, according to a Wednesday report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economist forecasts had been for 70,000 jobs added, up from job growth of 48,000 in December. STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms & conditions and privacy policy . The unemployment rate fell to 4.3% versus forecasts for 4.4% and December’s 4.4%. Trading in a tight range close to $69,000 for much of the week, bitcoin BTC $ 67,496.43 had dipped back to the $67,000 area in the hours prior to the report. In the immediate aftermath of the strong data, bitcoin rose to $67,500, though still down 2% over the past 24 hours. After having cut rates multiple times in the second half of 2025, the Federal Reserve held policy steady at its January meeting, and members showed little inclination to resume rate cuts at the bank’s next meeting in March. Ahead of this morning’s job numbers, interest rate traders were placing just 21% chances of a March easing. That number is likely to go lower following this morning's beat. Breaking News top news Employment More For You Crypto's latest selloff was a TradFi event, not a crypto crisis By James Van Straten , AI Boost | Edited by Jamie Crawley 41 minutes ago Last week’s downturn was driven by yen carry trades and macro leverage, highlighting how deeply digital assets are now tied to traditional markets, panelists at Consensus Hong Kong 2026 said. What to know : Panelists said yen carry trade unwinds and rising margin requirements pressured crypto alongside gold and silver. Despite volatility and outflows, roughly $100 billion remains in bitcoin ETFs. A more permissive regulatory climate is pushing institutions toward public blockchains and stablecoin-based settlement. Read full story Latest Crypto News Recapping day 1 of Consensus Hong Kong 39 minutes ago Crypto's latest selloff was a TradFi event, not a crypto crisis 41 minutes ago As bitcoin extends declines, industry figures say it's time to buy 1 hour ago Aviva Investors to tokenize funds on XRP Ledger in Ripple partnership 1 hour ago Franklin Templeton and Swift say the future of banking is 24/7 and onchain 1 hour ago Bearish sentiment prevails as bitcoin falls below $67,000, ether drops 1 hour ago Top Stories Tokenization still at start of hype cycle, but needs more use cases, specialists say 3 hours ago Crypto's banker adversaries didn't want to deal in latest White House meeting on bill 14 hours ago Arkham denies exchange closure plan, says switching to decentralized platform 4 hours ago Hong Kong working to allow perpetual contracts, chief regulator says 8 hours ago SkyBridge's Scaramucci is buying the bitcoin dip, calls Trump a crypto president 10 hours ago Joe Lubin claims DeFi is as safe as traditional finance, adding that bitcoin is in crisis 2 hours ago In this article BTC BTC $ 67,496.43 ◢ 2.18 %