Local economist reacts to mixed January 2026 jobs report

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- The latest jobs report is out and reaction continues to pour in as the White House and economists interpret what the numbers represent for the state of the country.

According to the Bureau of Labor & Statistics jobs report for January 2026, the U.S. labor market added 130,000 jobs to the marketplace last month. The unemployment rate for January slightly dipped to 4.3% compared to 4.4% in December 2025.

"I think we got good news for the labor market situation in January. It's a little bit better than what we expected," said UNC Flagler School of Business economist Camelia Kuhnen.

However, a revised jobs report for 2025 painted a different picture than what the Trump administration touted for last year. "The labor market ended 2025 on a weaker footing than we thought," she said.

According to the White House, the labor market was estimated to have added 584,000 jobs in 2025. However, according to the BLS report, there were only 181,000 jobs added in 2025; down significantly.

Additionally, some have expressed concern over the emergence of artificial intelligence as a threat to the job market weakening numbers.

"I've heard people talking about AI potentially taking jobs from people. And that's a shame," said healthcare worker Roosevelt Richard. "Because with the economy we live in right now, every job matters for someone."

Kuhnen suggests there isn't enough data to fully support AI taking all jobs.

"We haven't seen layoffs driven by AI replacing workers," she said. "This can happen. But it has not happened yet."

However, according to data by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, companies cited AI for 7% of job loss in January. Since 2023, only 3% of layoffs cited AI as a contributing factor.

"Everybody thinks that there's potential out there for AI to make everything more productive. But it hasn't yet materialized," said Kuhnen.

Meanwhile, one former NC State engineering professor is cautious of AI's disruption to the engineering industry, particularly for new grads.

"I say pay attention is more of the thing than panicking," said Michael Mettrey. "These things we're learning to deal with. We have to deal with it."