WASHINGTON \u2014 Sluggish hiring last month closed out a year of weak employment gains that have frustrated job seekers even as layoffs and unemployment have also been low.<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/p>\n
Sluggish hiring last month closed out a year of weak employment gains that have frustrated job seekers even as layoffs and unemployment have also been low
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Employers added 50,000 jobs in December, nearly unchanged from a downwardly revised figure of 56,000 in November, the Labor Department said Friday
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The unemployment rate slipped to 4.4%, its first decline since June, from 4.5% in November, a figure also revised lower
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The data suggests that businesses are reluctant to add workers even as economic growth has picked up<\/p>\n
Employers added 50,000 jobs in December, nearly unchanged from a downwardly revised figure of 56,000 in November, the Labor Department said Friday. The unemployment rate slipped to 4.4%, its first decline since June, from 4.5% in November, a figure also revised lower.<\/p>\n
The data suggests that businesses are reluctant to add workers even as economic growth has picked up. Many firms hired aggressively after the pandemic and no longer need to fill more jobs. Others have held back due to widespread uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump\u2019s shifting tariff policies, elevated inflation, and the spread of artificial intelligence, which could alter or even replace some jobs.<\/p>\n
The jobs data are being closely watched on Wall Street and in Washington because they are the first clean readings on the labor market in three months. The government didn\u2019t issue a report in October because of the six-week government shutdown, and November\u2019s data was distorted by the closure, which lasted until Nov. 12.<\/p>\n