Latest Jobs Report Confirms a Stalled Labor Market
Latest Jobs Report Confirms a Stalled Labor Market
Today’s jobs report—which combines two months of employment data due to the recent government shutdown—shows the United States lost 105,000 jobs in October and gained 64,000 in November, with a total net change of 41,000 jobs lost across the two months. The unemployment rate rose to 4.6 percent, with more Americans out of work in November than any month since October 2021. In addition to weak job growth, total hiring remains far behind last year’s pace and concentrated in only a few sectors. Meanwhile, sectors like manufacturing and transportation and warehousing are hiring fewer workers, meaning less economic opportunity for working families struggling with the skyrocketing cost of living.
Groundwork Collaborative‘s Chief of Policy and Advocacy Alex Jacquez released the following statement:
“Today’s long-awaited jobs report confirms what we already suspected: Trump’s economy is stalling out and American workers are paying the price. Far from sparking a manufacturing renaissance, Trump’s reckless trade agenda is bleeding working class jobs, forcing layoffs, and raising prices for businesses and consumers alike. Trump may give himself an A++++ on the economy, but these latest jobs numbers are failing working families.”
BACKGROUND
- Job growth remains substantially weaker. So far this year, the economy has added only 40% as many jobs as it did at this point last year, leaving total hiring well below 2024 levels and barely able to keep unemployment from rising, far from delivering a real recovery for working Americans.
- Job gains remain narrowly concentrated in a small set of sectors. Health care continues to account for most hiring, while seasonal retail hiring was weaker than last year—even as retailers hike prices on holiday essentials.
- Manufacturing remains under pressure. Industrial production has shown little growth, reinforcing evidence that the United States remains in a manufacturing recession and that goods-producing jobs continue to be a drag on employment.
- The manufacturing sector lost 5,000 jobs in November, while transportation and warehousing lost 18,000 in November and 78,000 since February.
- More workers can’t find full-time jobs. The number of people working part time for economic reasons rose to 5.5 million in November, an increase of about 909,000 since September.
- Weekly unemployment claims are rising. Recent increases in claims indicate that job losses picked up late in the year, reinforcing signs of a cooling labor market.
- Small businesses remain cautious about hiring. Small business employment was flat in November, signaling that employers remain hesitant to add workers amid weaker demand and ongoing economic uncertainty.
