Jobs report December 2025:

The U.S. labor market finished 2025 on a weak note, according to Friday’s report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics; Job creation in December was less than expected.

Nonfarm payrolls rose to a seasonally adjusted 50,000, below November’s downwardly revised 56,000 and below Dow Jones’ forecast of 73,000.

At the same time, the unemployment rate fell to 4.4% compared to the forecast of 4.5%.

The report presented a muddy outlook for the labor market, noting that companies reported low levels of hiring but households showed employment growth.

The revisions also brought down previous months’ totals. The November total saw a slight downward revision in the employment count by 8,000; The October loss was even greater than originally reported; it is now 173,000, compared to the previous estimate of 105,000.

Full-year payroll earnings averaged 49,000 per month, compared to 168,000 in 2024, according to the BLS.

Federal Reserve officials are watching the employment picture closely to provide guidance on the future course of interest rates.

Despite some clamor for additional rate cuts on top of the three the Fed approved in the second half of last year, the economy appeared to be in fairly solid shape as a tumultuous year ended.

The Atlanta Fed’s rolling measure of incoming economic data indicates that gross domestic product increased at an annualized rate of 5.4% in the fourth quarter. This comes from the third quarter, when the broad measure of growth increased by 4.3%.

Additionally, consumers who power two-thirds of the $31 trillion U.S. economy spent heavily during the holiday season. Adobe estimates online spending rose 6.8% from a year ago to a record-breaking $257.8 billion.

Markets expect the Fed to remain on hold for a while after consecutive cuts that began in September. The next round of cuts won’t be priced in until June, but that could change following the jobs report.

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