December 2025 Jobs Report

The delayed jobs report was released on Tuesday, December 16, providing much needed insight on today’s labor market.

In November 64,000 jobs were added, more than the 40,000 jobs experts were predicting.

Hitting a four-year high, the unemployment rate rose to 4.6%, up from 4.4%.

The November report is being released mid-December, following the government shutdown that stretched from October through November, which impacted the BLS’s ability to conduct its typical data collection.

The agency announced that it did survey businesses for the month of October but was unable to collect household survey data.

Only partial employment numbers were released, showing that the labor market lost 105,000 jobs in October.

Additional findings

• Average hourly earning rose 0.1%, below the estimated 0.3%
• Labor force participation rose to 62.5% in November
• Healthcare (46,000+) and construction (+28,000) industries showed the highest gains
• Transportation and warehousing (-18,000) and leisure and hospitality (-12,000) posted the largest job losses
• Federal government jobs fell by 162,000 in October and 6,000 in November, likely due to deferred layoffs from early 2025
• This latest report is missing several data points for October, including the unemployment rate and labor force participation rate

2026 is almost here

With a gap in labor market coverage, it can feel like this year is ending on a more uncertain note than usual. Also, because of the shutdown, the BLS is proactively warning that its household survey will be impacted for several more months.

That’s why a data-driven hiring strategy requires many different tools and resources. At Adecco, we utilize proprietary data sources, as well as the BLS, to capture the whole picture.

Learn more about our analytics tools, or contact us today to discuss how we incorporate market data into our staffing solutions.