After weeks of uncertainty surrounding federal data collection, a delayed snapshot of the U.S. labor market offered a mixed picture of modest job growth and rising unemployment.
According to FOX Business, figures released Tuesday by the Labor Department show employers added 64,000 jobs in November.
The total exceeded economists’ expectations of roughly 50,000 new positions, but still reflected a labor market losing momentum as the year draws to a close.
At the same time, the unemployment rate climbed to 4.6%, higher than the 4.4% economists had forecast.
That figure marked the highest unemployment rate recorded since September 2021, underscoring the growing strain beneath the headline job gains.
Revisions to prior months further dampened the outlook.
August employment was revised down by 22,000 jobs, shifting from a small reported loss to a deeper decline of 26,000.
September’s previously reported gain was also cut by 11,000 jobs. Combined, those revisions erased 33,000 jobs from earlier estimates.
The November report arrived later than planned due to a 43-day government shutdown that extended into November and disrupted data collection at the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The shutdown also delayed the October employment report, though some October data was folded into Tuesday’s release.
That partial October data showed a steep loss of 105,000 jobs.
While private employers added 52,000 positions that month, government payrolls fell by 157,000. Federal workers who accepted deferred buyouts earlier in the year were still counted as employed until their official separation in October, contributing to the sharp decline.
Private-sector hiring rebounded somewhat in November, with payrolls rising by 69,000 jobs — comfortably above expectations.
Government employment, however, continued to shrink, falling by 5,000 positions as federal and local losses outweighed modest gains at the state level.
Sector-specific data painted an uneven picture.
Manufacturing employment slipped by 5,000 jobs, while healthcare added more than 46,000 positions, driven by growth across ambulatory services, hospitals, and nursing facilities.
Construction firms added 28,000 jobs, largely among nonresidential specialty contractors. Transportation and warehousing, meanwhile, shed 17,700 jobs.
The labor force participation rate held steady at 62.5%, and long-term unemployment remained largely unchanged at 1.9 million people. However, the number of workers employed part-time for economic reasons rose to 5.5 million, reflecting reduced hours or difficulty finding full-time work.
Laura Ullrich of the Indeed Hiring Lab cautioned against overconfidence in the data.
“This incomplete and unconventional jobs report may always need an asterisk attached to it, but it still paints a sobering picture of a job market that may officially be turning frigid after a prolonged cooling period,” Ullrich said.
Kay Haigh of Goldman Sachs Asset Management echoed that view, saying the Federal Reserve is unlikely to place heavy weight on the report due to shutdown-related distortions.
Despite the mixed signals, markets largely expect the Fed to hold interest rates steady at its next meeting, with investors awaiting clearer data in the months ahead.
