New BLS Data Reflects a Stagnant, Cloudy U.S. Jobs Market

American nonfarm employers added just 64,000 jobs in November and unemployment (in terms of claims and percentage rate) showed an unhealthy rise, according to data released Tuesday, Dec. 16, by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The report, which originally was scheduled to be released on Friday, Dec. 5, was delayed by the 43-day federal government shutdown and covered data from both November and October. The numerical barometers in the combined report made for a complex analysis, with October actually showing a loss of 105,000 jobs. In addition:

• September’s job gains were revised downward by 11,000, from 119,000 to 108,000; and,
• August’s job loss figure was revised downward by 22,000, from -4,000 to -26,000.

“Downward revisions for August and September plus large losses in October — due to an enormous drop in federal workers at the end of September — has meant a significant slowing in the pace of job growth,” said Elise Gould, a senior economist with the Economic Policy Institute. “The three-month moving average of job growth fell from 232,000 in January to 62,000 in November.”

Added Elizabeth Renter, a senior economist at NerdWallet, “The current job market is not very welcoming to job seekers, with new jobs and overall hiring subdued.”

Rep. Don Beyer (D-Virginia), a member of Congress’ Joint Economic Committee, stated in a press release, “This disastrous jobs report makes it clear that this is not an ‘A++++ economy,’ as President Trump claimed. It’s an economy at risk of sliding into recession.”

However, President Donald Trump, in a post on Truth Social, stated, “It has been a great year for our country, and THE BEST IS YET TO COME!”

Unemployment Numbers on the Rise

The numbers from the BLS report that most news outlets centered on were the unemployment rate and total unemployed.

At 4.6%, the November percentage was higher than:

• September 2025 (the previous report), at 4.4%; and,
• November 2024, at 4.2%.

It is also the highest percentage since September 2021 (4.7%), when the economy was emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, and an increase from 4.0% in January 2025.

The total unemployed figure was 7.8 million, versus 7.6 in September 2025 and 7.1 million in November 2024.

“It’s a labor market that seems to have significant downside risks,” Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell recently warned.

However, Kathy Bostjancic, the chief economist at Nationwide Insurance, told Reuters, “The unemployment rate ... should be taken with a large grain of salt since the disrupted normal collection of the household survey data due to the government shutdown distorted the data readings and is associated with higher-than-usual standard errors.”

Stephen Stanley, the chief U.S. economist at Santander U.S. Capital Markets, told Reuters, “The level of government workers in the household survey plunged by 503,000 from September to November. I would not be surprised to see the unemployment rate slip back in December.”

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for teenagers was 16.3% in November, an increase from September. The jobless rates for adult men (4.1%), adult women (4.1%), Whites (3.9%), Blacks (8.3%), Asians (3.6%) and Hispanics (5.0%) showed little change.

The number of people jobless less than five weeks was 2.5 million in November, up by 316,000 from September. The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) changed little at 1.9 million in November and accounted for 24.3% of all unemployed people.

In November, both the labor force participation rate (62.5%) and the employment-population ratio (59.6%) changed little from September. These measures showed little or no change over the year.

Industries Have Mixed Results

Looking at employment by industry, the November data showed:

• Healthcare added 46,000 jobs, in line with the average monthly gain of 39,000 over the prior 12 months. Over the month, job gains occurred in ambulatory health care services (+24,000), hospitals (+11,000), and nursing and residential care facilities (+11,000).
• Construction was up 28,000, fueled by nonresidential specialty trade contractors (+19,000). Construction employment had changed little over the prior 12 months.
• Social assistance trended higher (+18,000), primarily in individual and family services (+13,000).
• Transportation and warehousing lost 18,000 jobs, reflecting a job loss in couriers and messengers (-18,000). Sector employment has declined by 78,000 since reaching a peak in February.
• The federal government shed 6,000 jobs, following a decline of 162,000 in October, as some federal employees who accepted a deferred resignation offer came off federal payrolls. Sector employment is down by 271,000 since reaching a peak in January.
• Among other major industries, there was little change in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; retail trade; information; financial activities; professional and business services; leisure and hospitality; and other services.

Hourly Earnings, Working Hours Mostly Steady

In November, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged up by 5 cents, or 0.1%, to $36.86. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.5%. In November, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees rose by 11 cents, or 0.3%, to $31.76.

The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged up by 0.1 hour to 34.3 hours in November. In manufacturing, the average workweek changed little at 40.0 hours, and overtime was unchanged at 2.9 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 33.7 hours.

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