The U.S. economy added 50,000 jobs in December, below economists' forecast and lower than the number of jobs added in November, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' December jobs report. In 2025 as a whole, payroll employment increased by 584,000, below 2024 gains of 2.0 million.
Jobs gained, and lost, by sector:
Employment "continued to trend up" in food services and drinking places (+27,000), health care (+21,000), and social assistance (+17,000).
The retail sector lost 25,000 jobs.
There was “little or no change over the month in other major industries.”
Unemployment and labor force participation:
The unemployment rate fell to 4.4%, changing little, as did the number of unemployed people, at 7.5 million. Forecasters had expected unemployment to come in at 4.5%.
Long-term unemployed people made up 26% of all unemployed people in December. The labor force participation rate came in at 62.4%, showing little change.
The number of people employed part time for economic reasons was little changed month-over-month, but "is up by 980,000 over the year." (This figure represents "individuals would have preferred full-time employment but were working part time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs.")
Average workweek and hourly earnings:
Average hourly earnings increased by 0.3% or 12 cents to $37.02, while the average workweek "for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls" fell by 0.1 hours to 34.2 hours.
The average workweek for manufacturing workers fell by 0.2 hours to 39.9 hours.
Revisions to past reports:
The Bureau of Labor Statistics revised down its October report by 68,000, from -105,000 to -173,000. November's report was revised down by 8,000, from +64,000 to +56,000.
The overarching takeaway in today’s report is that there is more good news than bad in the first on-time jobs report in three months.”
Read more via Bureau of Labor Statistics, CNBC, CNN
NOTE: The ADP Employment Report and the Bureau of Labor Statistics Jobs Report utilize different data, and therefore provide differing reports. ADP's report includes only private sector data.
The U.S. private sector added 41,000 jobs in December, according to the latest ADP National Employment Report.
Private sector hiring "turned positive" in December:
December's gains were slightly less than the 48,000 jobs economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had anticipated.
However, the December gains were a noted "rebound in hiring" following losses of 29,000 jobs in November.
Education and health services added 39,000 jobs, while the leisure and hospitality sector added 24,000. The trade, transportation and utilities sector added 11,000 jobs.
Professional and business services saw a decline of 29,000, while the information sector lost 12,000 jobs.
Jobs by region and establishment size:
The South and Northeast regions saw gains of 54,000 and 40,000 jobs, respectively, while the West region lost 61,000 jobs.
Larger companies "pulled back slightly from the job market" in December, but small businesses “grew their staffs last month, putting private-sector jobs in positive territory overall.”
Annual pay increased 4.4%:
For job-stayers, year-over-year pay was unchanged from November at 4.4%.
The "pace of pay growth accelerated to 6.6 percent from 6.3 percent" for job-changers.
Small establishments recovered from November job losses with positive end-of-year hiring, even as large employers pulled back."
Read more via ADP, The Wall Street Journal
The number of available jobs declined to the "lowest level in more than a year," according to the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Job openings fell to 7.15 million in November:
The number of job openings declined from 7.45 million in October to just 7.15 million in November.
Job openings "trended lower across the majority of industries." Exceptions included the retail and construction sectors.
November job openings were “at their lowest level since September 2024.”
Hiring also trended down:
November was marked by just 5.12 million new hires, down from 5.37 million in October.
That puts hires "at their lowest since June of [2024]."
The hiring rate declined to 3.2%, in line with the “lowest rate in more than a decade (excluding the pandemic).”
Layoffs were down, while quits increased:
While the quits rate "remains below its 2019 average," it increased slightly in November, to 2.0%.
The slight increase in the number of workers quitting their jobs could be an “indicator of worker confidence.”
It remains a low-hire, low-fire labor market where the all-important turnover activity continues to grind slower and slower."
Read more via Bureau of Labor Statistics, CNN, Indeed Hiring Lab
As 2026 gets off to a start, workers in 19 states are seeing minimum hourly wage increases.
According to one report, the increases are "expected to benefit" over 8.3 million workers and will "collectively add an estimated $5 billion in earnings nationwide."
Hawaii saw the largest increase, from $14 to $16 per hour.
Nebraska minimum wage workers saw a $1.50 increase, from $13.50 to $15.
Michigan's minimum wage increased $1.25, from $12.48 to $13.73.
Missouri minimum wage workers also saw a $1.25 per hour increase, from $13.75 to $15.
Other states that increased their minimum wage effective this month include Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.
In addition to state minimum wage increases, some municipalities also bumped up minimum hourly pay. Seattle increased its minimum wage from $20.76 to $21.30 per hour, while Minneapolis raised its minimum hourly wage from $15.97 to $16.37.
Read more via CNBC, Ogletree, City of Minneapolis
Beginning this month, new immigration restrictions have taken effect, impacting both H1-B visa applicants and travelers.
Travel restrictions take effect, barring travel from seven countries:
President Trump signed executive orders that limit individuals from a number of countries from traveling to the United States.
The administration said the order is aimed at "expanding and strengthening entry restrictions on nationals from countries with demonstrated, persistent, and severe deficiencies in screening, vetting, and information-sharing."
In January, restrictions took effect barring individuals from seven countries (Burkina Faso, Laos, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Syria) from entering the U.S.
The administration also added "full restrictions and entry limitations on individuals holding Palestinian-Authority-issued travel documents."
The existing travel ban continues for individuals from Afghanistan, Burma (Myanmar), Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran; Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
Partial travel restrictions are in place for individuals traveling from Venezuela and Cuba.
New H1-B visa restrictions have taken effect:
Beginning January 1, changes to the H1-B visa program have gone into effect, changing the H1-B visa selection process.
The new selection process will "allow for a weighted system to prioritize individuals that would make a higher wage."
Read more about the administration's H1-B policy changes here.
Read more via ABC News, The White House
According to multiple news reports, the Trump administration is currently scrutinizing employers' DEI initiatives under the False Claims Act.
The False Claims Act was passed in 1863 and is designed to protect the government against fraud. Under the law, the government can seek damages against those who it can show knowingly submitted false claims for payment.
The administration is looking to "take action against contractors" by mandating companies "turn over information about their diversity, equity and inclusion programs."
Google and Verizon have reportedly already "received Justice Department demands for documents and information about their workplace programs." Other major companies across a variety of sectors have received similar demands, according to news reports.
Administration officials have vowed they will launch "numerous investigations and lawsuits against institutions that continue to offend our federal civil rights laws."
Experts say the "mere threat of a False Claims Act investigation is a powerful cudgel," and that "damages and penalties can quickly add up in False Claims Act lawsuits."
While many business leaders say they are "very confident from a purely legal perspective" in how their organization is operating from a DEI perspective, experts say many of those leaders also agree that being on the right side of the law won't protect their organization from being "dragged through the mud" by the current administration.
Read more via USA Today, MSNow
The U.S. Department of Education will soon "resume wage garnishment for defaulted student loan borrowers."
The Trump administration had planned to begin garnishing the pay of defaulted student-loan borrowers over the summer. The government shutdown delayed the process.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the Department of Education alerted 1,000 defaulted borrowers last week, with plans to scale up those notices to additional defaulted borrowers in the months to come.
There are over "five million federal student loan borrowers" that are "seriously delinquent on their loans and over three million haven’t made a payment in more than 270 days," according to officials.
If a borrowers' wages are garnished, they "could see up to 15% of their wages automatically deducted from their paychecks. "
Read more via The Wall Street Journal, Yahoo Finance
Canada: The Canadian economy created only 8,200 new jobs in December, while the country's unemployment rate increased from 6.5% to 6.8%, according to Statistics Canada. Economists had expected a net jobs decline of 5,000 roles and anticipated the unemployment rate would increase to just 6.6%. (Reuters)
Colombia: The country's government announced plans to increase the minimum wage to 1.75 million pesos per month, or $475, a 22.7% increase. The minimum wage increase takes effect this year and will apply to "around 2.5 million workers." Colombia's minimum wage was already increased by 9.54% in 2025. (Reuters)
India: According to new data from staffing firm Xpheno, the "number of active technology job openings in India fell to 103,000 at the start of January, down 24% from 136,000 in the same period last year." January's total technology job openings were "far short of the 262,000 figure recorded in 2022." (SIA)
United Kingdom: Job openings in the UK "shrunk for the fifth month in a row in November," according to new data from Adzuna. Vacancies declined 6.4% in November over the prior month and "were down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis." Adzuna noted that "vacancies for entry-level roles fell 24.7% year over year." (SIA)
