Core Insights - The December job report indicates a muted hiring environment, with only 50,000 jobs added, falling short of the expected 73,000 and below the average monthly gain of 55,000 for the first 11 months of 2025 [1][3] - The unemployment rate decreased to 4.4% from 4.6% in November, which was the highest rate since 2021, suggesting underlying strain in the labor market [3] Labor Market Analysis - The revisions to previous months' data revealed a weaker labor market, with nonfarm payroll employment for October and November revised down by a total of 76,000 jobs [3] - The December report is the first on-schedule release since September, following a significant government shutdown, which may have impacted data accuracy [4] - Fed Chairman Jerome Powell cautioned that the figures should be interpreted with skepticism due to potential data gaps, indicating that normalization of reports may take an additional month or two [4]
US employers add 50K jobs in December as unemployment rate drops to 4.4%
New York Post·2026-01-09 13:45