The United States added fewer jobs than expected in January; although hiring remained healthy, government data showed on Friday, marking resilience in the labour market heading into President Donald Trump's new term.

Total employment rose by 143,000 jobs last month, according to the Labor Department, significantly lower than the revised 307,000 figure in December.

The January number was also below an analyst consensus estimate of 155,000, according to Briefing.com.

Meanwhile, the jobless rate edged down to 4.0 percent from 4.1 percent, beating analyst expectations.

Wage growth was better than analysts expected, accelerating to 0.5 percent, the report showed.

The data added to signs that the US economy remained in excellent shape heading into Trump's second term, which began on January 20, analysts noted.

Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, took aim at downward revisions to last year's figures in the latest update, telling media that the Trump administration has "a lot of work to do."

"Taken together, December and January payroll figures paint a strong picture of the economy," added Carl Weinberg and Mary Chen of High Frequency Economics.

They said they expect that with these figures, the US central bank would not be in a rush to cut interest rates.

Sectors like health care, retail trade, and social assistance saw job gains, the Labour Department said, while employment declined in industries like mining, alongside oil and gas.

Economists warned that businesses may reconsider further hiring due to heightened tariff risks and Trump's plans to slow immigration. (AFP)