Job Market BLOG

SUMMARY: The December 2025 Labor Department report confirms that the U.S. labor market experienced its weakest job growth since 2003.

DETAILS: In 2025, the economy added about 584,000 jobs. That is much slower than the previous year (2 million). Most of the growth came from healthcare and social assistance. Leisure and hospitality also did well. On the flip side, retail trade lost jobs along with professional services and manufacturing. Public sector jobs fell sharply, mainly because of federal cuts.

The unemployment rate is now 4.4%. The last time we saw this level was back in late 2021. So the job market is steady but not booming, with considerable variation across sectors, and the hiring process is slow.