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US private sector lost 32k jobs in November
According to new reporting from payroll processing firm ADP, companies in the private sector lost 32,000 jobs in November.
WASHINGTON - The Labor Department’s jobs report released Friday shows U.S. employers added just 50,000 jobs in December, concluding a year of weak employment gains.
December jobs report revealed
By the numbers:
According to the agency, employers added 50,000 jobs last month, nearly unchanged from a downwardly revised figure of 56,000 in November.
The figure was cooler than the expectations of economists polled by LSEG, who projected 60,000 jobs would be added for the month.
Nearly all the jobs added in December were in the health care and restaurant and hotel industries. Health care added 38,500 jobs, while restaurants and hotels gained 47,000. Governments — mostly at the state and local level — added 13,000.
Manufacturing, construction and retail companies all shed jobs. Retailers cut 25,000 positions, a sign that holiday hiring has been weaker than previous years. Manufacturers have shed jobs every month since April, when Trump announced sweeping tariffs intended to boost manufacturing.
The unemployment rate slipped to 4.4%, its first decline since June, from 4.5% in November, a figure also revised lower.
Revisions to the October and November jobs reports pushed employment in those months lower by 76,000 jobs. (Credit: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The decline comes after the unemployment rate was initially reported as rising to 4.6% in November, which was the highest it's been since September 2021, though it was revised to 4.5% after the BLS made a routine population adjustment for the latest report.
The new data suggests that businesses are reluctant to add workers even as economic growth has picked up.
Big picture view:
Many companies hired aggressively after the pandemic and no longer need to fill more jobs. Others have held back due to widespread uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump’s shifting tariff policies, ongoing inflation, and the spread of artificial intelligence, which could alter or replace some jobs.
Zooming out, the economy generated an average of 111,000 jobs a month in the first three months of 2025. But that pace dropped to just 11,000 in the three months ended in August, before rebounding slightly to 22,000 in November.
Last year, the economy gained just 584,000 jobs, sharply lower than the more than 2 million added in 2024. It's the smallest annual gain since the COVID-19 pandemic decimated the job market in 2020.
Despite this, economists were encouraged by the drop in the unemployment rate, which had risen in the previous four straight reports.
What economists are saying
What they're saying:
Economists say that this decline lowers the odds of another rate reduction in January.
"The labor market looks to have stabilized, but at a slower pace of employment growth," Blerina Uruci, chief economist at T. Rowe Price, said. "There is no urgency for the Fed to cut rates further, for now."
Ellen Zentner, the chief economic strategist for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, added: "Today's report confirms what we think has been evident for some time – the labor market is no longer working in favor of jobseekers. Until the data provide a clearer direction, a divided Fed is likely to stay that way. Lower rates are likely coming this year, but the markets may have to be patient."
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Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management, said that the "prospect of a January Fed rate cut has all but vanished following the unexpected drop in the unemployment rate."
"It is now difficult to argue that the labor market is collapsing and in urgent need of monetary support. However, the picture remains far from clear: payroll growth undershot expectations and downward revisions to prior months have pushed the three-month moving average into negative territory," Shah added. "The U.S. economy likely requires additional support from the Fed – just not immediately."
Some Federal Reserve officials are concerned that inflation remains above their target of 2% annual growth, and hasn't improved since 2024. They support keeping rates where they are to combat inflation. Others, however, are more worried that hiring has nearly ground to a halt and have supported lowering borrowing costs to spur spending and growth.
The Source: This story was reported from Los Angeles. The Associated Press, FOX Business contributed.