The US labor market showed significant strain and unusual volatility in November, with the unemployment rate climbing to a four-year high of 4.6%. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the economy added 64,000 jobs last month—a figure that surpassed expectations but followed a revised loss of 105,000 jobs in October. This period’s data was heavily distorted by the longest-ever federal government shutdown, which halted data collection for much of October and delayed the November report. As a result, no official unemployment rate was released for October for the first time in nearly 80 years, and the reliability of the household survey data was compromised, though the establishment survey remained relatively robust due to an extended collection period.
Beneath the statistical noise, the report revealed a labor market in clear deceleration, bordering on what economists term a „jobs recession.” Over the past six months, the economy has lost jobs in three separate months (June, August, and October), putting 2023 on track to be the weakest year for job creation since the pandemic-induced losses of 2020. Net job gains over that six-month span totaled a mere 100,000, heavily concentrated in the always-resilient healthcare and social assistance sector, which added over 64,000 jobs in both October and November. Most other industries, including manufacturing and leisure and hospitality, are stagnating or shedding workers.
The hiring slowdown is occurring against a backdrop of high uncertainty for businesses, stemming from factors like tariffs and geopolitical tensions, creating what one economist called a „foggy horizon” for hiring plans. While the Federal Reserve has cut interest rates for three consecutive meetings to stimulate the economy, these moves take time to filter through and have not yet spurred additional hiring. Meanwhile, workers are feeling the pinch as annual wage growth slowed to 3.5%—the lowest rate in over four years—which threatens to dampen consumer spending. The report also highlighted deteriorating conditions for vulnerable groups, with the unemployment rate for Black workers rising to 8.3%, its highest level in four years.
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Forrás: https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/16/economy/us-jobs-report-final-november-october.