The US non-farm payrolls added 143,000 jobs in January, according to data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics a few moments ago, compared to 307,000 jobs in December’s revised reading of 51,000. The November reading was revised upward to 61,000 from 49,000, falling short of market expectations of an addition of around 170,000 jobs.

The unemployment rate in the United States fell by 0.1% to 4.0% (expectations at 4.1%), while the labor market participation rate stabilized at 62.6%, unchanged from the December reading.

On the other hand, the wage index also rose on a monthly basis to 0.5% from 0.3%, and rose on an annual basis to 4.1% compared to 3.9% in December, better than expectations that indicated an increase to 3.6%.

In the details of the sectors, the health care sector added about 44 thousand jobs, while the construction sector added 4 thousand jobs, and the manufacturing sector added about 3 thousand jobs.

The largest number of jobs came from the services sector, with 111 thousand jobs.