Job Market BLOG

SUMMARY: The delayed Labor Department report confirms that the labor market is slowing and the number of people seeking work is increasing.

DETAILS: The latest jobs report shows the market is cooling off a bit. Over the past two months, the US lost more jobs than it gained. October saw a significant drop, and November added some jobs back, but not enough to break even. The unemployment rate is now 4.6 percent, the highest since 2021 and up from 4.2 percent a year ago.

Private companies added jobs while government jobs slipped. Education and health services led the growth, and leisure and hospitality also did well. On the flip side, professional and business services, information, and manufacturing saw the biggest losses.