BoC: Summary of Governing Council deliberations: Fixed announcement date of January 28, 2026

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 130,000 in January, and the unemployment rate changed little at 4.3 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in health care, social assistance, and construction, while federal government and financial activities lost jobs. This news release presents statistics from two monthly surveys. The household survey measures labor force status, including unemployment, by demographic characteristics. The establishment survey measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry. For more information about the concepts and statistical methodology used in these two surveys, see the Technical Note. U.S. payrolls rose by 130,000 in January, more than expected; unemployment rate at 4.3% Job growth was stronger than expected to start 2026, providing some relief to concerns about the state of the U.S. labor market. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 130,000 for January, above the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 55,000, according to seasonally adjusted figures the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Wednesday. The total also was an improvement over December, which saw a gain of 48,000 after a slight downward revision. The unemployment rate edged lower to 4.3%, below the forecast to stay unchanged at 4.4% from the prior month. The report, delayed nearly a week by the partial government shutdown that ended Feb. 3, held consistent with a US LABOR DEPARTMENT PAYROLLS BENCHMARK REVISIONS: THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED NONFARM EMPLOYMENT LEVEL FOR MARCH 2025 WAS REVISED DOWNWARD BY 898,000 ... THE JOBS STORY JUST GOT REWRITTEN On February 11, 2026, the Bureau of Labor Statistics slashed its 2025 payroll numbers in its annual benchmark update. What changed: Total job growth was revised from +584,000 to +181,000. That’s an average of just +15,000 jobs per month, not…

Thank you for joining me today. It is an honor to be in the beautiful state of New Mexico, and in Albuquerque, one of the largest cities in the seven-state region that makes up the Federal Reserve’s Tenth District. The Federal Reserve’s regional structure, with 12 independent and locally rooted district banks spread across the country, is one of the most defining features of the nation’s central bank. These regional banks, including the Kansas City Fed, work alongside the Board of Governors, located in Washington, D.C., to set monetary policy and influence interest rates across the entire economy. This system of regional input in setting monetary policy, which is unique to the United States, ensures that a wide variety of voices and views, including yours, inform some of the most important economic decisions in our country. From Kansas City and our offices in Denver, Omaha, and Oklahoma City, the Bank engages with local communities, listening and collecting insights and data that shape policy. I personally find speaking to individuals about their economic lives to be one of the most enriching parts of my job, and I take every opportunity I can to travel throughout the district. Speaking of travel, I would like to b FED'S SCHMID SAYS APPROPRIATE TO KEEP RESTRICTIVE MONETARY POLICY WITH INFLATION CLOSE TO 3% FED'S SCHMID SAYS NOT SEEING EVIDENCE CURRENT LEVEL OF INTEREST RATES IS RESTRAINING ECONOMY SCHMID: FURTHER FED RATE CUTS COULD ALLOW HIGHER INFLATION TO PERSIST FOR LONGER FED'S SCHMID: PRODUCTIVITY IMPROVEMENTS COULD ALLOW FASTER GROWTH WITHOUT INFLATION, BUT 'WE ARE NOT THERE YET' - CURRENT INFLATION RATE INDICATES STILL-STRONG DEMAND IS OUTPACING IMPROVEMENTS IN SUPPLY

FED GOVERNOR MIRAN SAID STRONG JANUARY JOBS DATA DOES NOT RULE OUT RATE CUTS AND HE EXPECTS INFLATION TO FALL SHARPLY THIS YEAR. MIRAN ARGUED THAT BOOSTING SUPPLY THROUGH PRODUCTIVITY GAINS AND DEREGULATION COULD HELP LOWER INFLATION BY EXPANDING OUTPUT. HE ADDED THAT POLICY…