December jobs report shows a decidedly weaker labor market than a year ago
Below, EPI senior economist Elise Gould offers her insights on the jobs report released this morning, which showed 50,000 jobs added in December. Read the full thread here.
Today’s #JobsReport tells us the economy is decidedly weaker than a year ago:
-unemployment rate is 4.4%, up from 4.1% last Dec
-payroll employment up 50k; total gain this year only 585k compared to 2.0 million in 2024
-federal employment is down 277k since Jan, a loss of 9.2% federal jobs
#EconSky— Elise Gould (@elisegould.bsky.social) Jan 9, 2026 at 7:47 AM
The slowdown in job growth this year is stark compared to 2024. The average monthly gain was only 49,000 in 2025 compared to 168,000 in 2024. Over the last three months, average job growth was actually negative, meaning there are fewer jobs now than in September.
#NumbersDay #EconSky
— Elise Gould (@elisegould.bsky.social) Jan 9, 2026 at 8:05 AM
Leisure and hospitality gained 47k jobs in Dec after falling in Nov. Health care and social assistance continue to add jobs. Retail jobs fell along with construction, professional and business services, and manufacturing. Manufacturing has lost jobs every month over the last 8, down 72k since April.
— Elise Gould (@elisegould.bsky.social) Jan 9, 2026 at 8:20 AM
Attacks on the federal workforce were astounding in 2025. Federal employment has shrunk an alarming 277,000 since January. The vital services federal employees provide cannot be done without these essential workers. The cost of these losses are only beginning to be felt.
#EconSky #NumbersDay— Elise Gould (@elisegould.bsky.social) Jan 9, 2026 at 8:29 AM
The unemployment rate is higher than at the start of the year (4.4% vs 4.0%). Black unemployment (7.5%) is far higher than any other group and up since in Jan (6.2%). Unemployment rise was worst for Black women (7.8% in Dec vs 5.4% in Jan). See www.epi.org/blog/whats-b… for more context.
#EconSky— Elise Gould (@elisegould.bsky.social) Jan 9, 2026 at 8:49 AM
The unemployment rate for U.S. born workers is up over the last year as well, from 3.7% in December 2024 to 4.1% in December 2025, evidence against the myth that the slowdown in the labor market in 2025 was limited to immigrants.
— Elise Gould (@elisegould.bsky.social) Jan 9, 2026 at 9:03 AM
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