December 2025 Unemployment Rate Lower Than November As 50,000 New Jobs Were Added To The US Economy

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In terms of the latest jobs report, thousands of new roles were added to the U.S. economy last month. However, it is still far below projections from experts.

Jobs Report Update 2025

CNN reports that an estimated 50,000 new jobs were added to the U.S. economy in December 2025 with an unemployment rate of 4.4%. The month prior, 56,000 jobs were added with a rate of 4.5%. The Bureau of Labor Statistics report shows that food services and drinking places added an estimated 27,000 jobs in December 2025 with an average 12,000 jobs per month over the whole year; health care added 21,000 jobs; social assistance contributed 17,000 jobs; and electronics and appliance retailers added 5,000 jobs.

Additionally, retail trade lost 25,000 jobs in December. There was little to no change in the following industries that month: mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; construction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; transportation and warehousing; information; financial activities; professional and business services; and other services.

In total, 584,000 payroll employment jobs were added in 2025 compared to 2 million jobs in 2024. The majority (85%) of the jobs gained in 2025 reportedly occurred in the first four months of the year, Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, told CNN.

Experts Weigh In

The outlet also notes this was the “weakest” yearly job growth since 2003 when not considering recession years. In fact, the number was lower than the 70,000 that economists predicted when polled by Bloomberg, according to the Financial Times. Additionally, it was reported that the number of individuals unemployed long term for 27 weeks increased to 26% in December.

“The United States is in a jobless boom,” Long told CNN. “There was almost no hiring in 2025 … We would be talking about job losses in 2025, if it weren’t for health care and social assistance.”

Mike Reynolds, vice-president of investment strategy at Glenmede, said, according to the Financial Times, “The labour market is doing okay, but it’s just really not robust at all with light hiring and also light firing . . . It’s a tenuous balance.”

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