Donald Trump gets double blow on US job figures
Newsweek reports:
Story by Hugh Cameron
“ The employment landscape was more fragile than initially thought at the close of 2025, with slow hiring and heavy revisions to past months’ data, the latest jobs report from the Department of Labor showed.
According to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Friday morning, the U.S. economy added 50,000 jobs in December, down from November’s initial reported total of 64,000.
Friday’s report also included updates to previous months’ data, with nonfarm payrolls for November being revised down to 56,000—an 8,000 decrease. Additionally, the loss of 105,000 jobs in October was revised to 173,000, meaning employment over the two previous months was 76,000 lower than originally believed.
However, the unemployment rate ticked down, dropping to 4.4 percent from 4.6 percent in November and is back at its September level. The unemployment rate stood at 4.0 percent when President Donald Trump returned to office in January.
With December’s 50,000 gain, employers added a total of 584,000 jobs in 2025, down from 2.0 million in 2024 and marking the weakest year for employment growth since 2020.
Friday’s data offers the clearest view of the U.S. labor market in several months, as October and November data were heavily impacted by the government shutdown, which ended on November 12. As confirmed by the release, the U.S. faced a significant slowdown for much of 2025, marked by a series of weak payroll reports as U.S. employers remained cautious about hiring.
The new figures are largely in line with forecasts prior to the release. Trading Economics projected the addition of 45,000 jobs and unemployment holding steady at 4.6 percent, while the consensus among analysts had been for 60,000 new jobs and a slight dip in the unemployment rate to 4.5 percent. Some economists predicted the Christmas holiday hiring peak could put December’s monthly total above 105,000 jobs.
According to the BLS, labor force participation and temporary unemployment were little changed from December, and job gains during the month were supported by a handful of sectors.
Employment in food services and drinking places continued on an upward trend last month, with payrolls increasing by 27,000 and bringing 2025’s average monthly gain to 12,000—broadly in line with 2024. Health care employment also remained strong, with 21,000 jobs added in December, and social assistance gained 17,000 jobs.
However, retail trade saw the loss of 25,000 jobs in December, primarily in warehouse clubs, supercenters, and other general merchandise retailers.
The BLS said that, unlike recent releases, the collection of Friday’s data was not impacted by any lingering effects of the 43-day government shutdown, but the figures remain subject to revision in the next employment report, due out February 6.
Trump has repeatedly criticized the BLS, even firing its chief statistician in early August after claiming without evidence that she had “manipulated” employment data to reflect poorly on him and his administration.
But the Federal Reserve has also questioned the accuracy of the agency’s figures. During a news conference in December, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that federal data could be overstating job creation by around 60,000 payrolls per month.
“Payroll jobs [are] averaging 40,000 per month since April,” he told reporters. “We think there’s an overstatement in these numbers by about 60,000, so that would be negative 20,000 per month.”
Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Northlight Asset Management, wrote in a press note following the report: “In essence, we are seeing validation of the idea that job creation is very weak and companies have been letting workers go at a slow pace. There aren’t any red flashing lights indicating an imminent recession, but there are plenty of yellow warning lights flashing and there is the risk that we could approach stall speed.”
Kyle Allen, executive vice president of professional services firm Highspring’s Talent Solutions division, told Newsweek: “BLS jobs data points to a labor market that’s cooling beneath the surface, particularly in the higher-wage and professional roles that companies typically rely on for growth.”
Bankrate Senior Economic Analyst Mark Hamrick said in a press note that the data “affirms the established narrative about the low hire, low fire job market. With the addition of 50K jobs in the final month of the year, 2025 brought the weakest payrolls growth since the pandemic shutdown [and reopening] year of 2020. Three months featured contraction in payrolls including the revised loss of 173K jobs in October.”
Analysts have suggested that the soft report could alter the Federal Reserve’s calculus as it weighs up its next interest rate decision. However, the smart money is all but certain the central bank will hold rates steady at its meeting in late January.“
Story by Hugh Cameron
“ The employment landscape was more fragile than initially thought at the close of 2025, with slow hiring and heavy revisions to past months’ data, the latest jobs report from the Department of Labor showed.
According to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Friday morning, the U.S. economy added 50,000 jobs in December, down from November’s initial reported total of 64,000.
Friday’s report also included updates to previous months’ data, with nonfarm payrolls for November being revised down to 56,000—an 8,000 decrease. Additionally, the loss of 105,000 jobs in October was revised to 173,000, meaning employment over the two previous months was 76,000 lower than originally believed.
However, the unemployment rate ticked down, dropping to 4.4 percent from 4.6 percent in November and is back at its September level. The unemployment rate stood at 4.0 percent when President Donald Trump returned to office in January.
With December’s 50,000 gain, employers added a total of 584,000 jobs in 2025, down from 2.0 million in 2024 and marking the weakest year for employment growth since 2020.
Friday’s data offers the clearest view of the U.S. labor market in several months, as October and November data were heavily impacted by the government shutdown, which ended on November 12. As confirmed by the release, the U.S. faced a significant slowdown for much of 2025, marked by a series of weak payroll reports as U.S. employers remained cautious about hiring.
The new figures are largely in line with forecasts prior to the release. Trading Economics projected the addition of 45,000 jobs and unemployment holding steady at 4.6 percent, while the consensus among analysts had been for 60,000 new jobs and a slight dip in the unemployment rate to 4.5 percent. Some economists predicted the Christmas holiday hiring peak could put December’s monthly total above 105,000 jobs.
According to the BLS, labor force participation and temporary unemployment were little changed from December, and job gains during the month were supported by a handful of sectors.
Employment in food services and drinking places continued on an upward trend last month, with payrolls increasing by 27,000 and bringing 2025’s average monthly gain to 12,000—broadly in line with 2024. Health care employment also remained strong, with 21,000 jobs added in December, and social assistance gained 17,000 jobs.
However, retail trade saw the loss of 25,000 jobs in December, primarily in warehouse clubs, supercenters, and other general merchandise retailers.
The BLS said that, unlike recent releases, the collection of Friday’s data was not impacted by any lingering effects of the 43-day government shutdown, but the figures remain subject to revision in the next employment report, due out February 6.
Trump has repeatedly criticized the BLS, even firing its chief statistician in early August after claiming without evidence that she had “manipulated” employment data to reflect poorly on him and his administration.
But the Federal Reserve has also questioned the accuracy of the agency’s figures. During a news conference in December, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that federal data could be overstating job creation by around 60,000 payrolls per month.
“Payroll jobs [are] averaging 40,000 per month since April,” he told reporters. “We think there’s an overstatement in these numbers by about 60,000, so that would be negative 20,000 per month.”
Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Northlight Asset Management, wrote in a press note following the report: “In essence, we are seeing validation of the idea that job creation is very weak and companies have been letting workers go at a slow pace. There aren’t any red flashing lights indicating an imminent recession, but there are plenty of yellow warning lights flashing and there is the risk that we could approach stall speed.”
Kyle Allen, executive vice president of professional services firm Highspring’s Talent Solutions division, told Newsweek: “BLS jobs data points to a labor market that’s cooling beneath the surface, particularly in the higher-wage and professional roles that companies typically rely on for growth.”
Bankrate Senior Economic Analyst Mark Hamrick said in a press note that the data “affirms the established narrative about the low hire, low fire job market. With the addition of 50K jobs in the final month of the year, 2025 brought the weakest payrolls growth since the pandemic shutdown [and reopening] year of 2020. Three months featured contraction in payrolls including the revised loss of 173K jobs in October.”
Analysts have suggested that the soft report could alter the Federal Reserve’s calculus as it weighs up its next interest rate decision. However, the smart money is all but certain the central bank will hold rates steady at its meeting in late January.“
