The U.S. labor market closed out 2025 with continued signs of weakness, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ December employment report released Friday. Nonfarm payrolls increased by just 50,000 jobs, well below many economists’ forecasts and a marked slowdown from earlier in the year.
Industry data showed that gains were concentrated in sectors such as health care, food services and hospitality, and social assistance, while retail trade lost jobs over the month.
Despite modest job gains, the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.4 percent in December, a slight improvement from November’s revised 4.5 percent and the first decline since midyear.
Economists and market analysts have noted that 2025 was one of the slowest years of job growth in recent memory. Total payroll gains for the year ended far below 2024’s pace, highlighting a labor market that struggled to expand even as broader economic indicators showed resilience, the
