"The United States gained a decent 64,000 jobs in November but lost 105,000 in October as federal workers departed after cutbacks by the Trump administration, the government said in delayed reports. The unemployment rate rose to 4.6%, highest since 2021. Both the October and November job creation numbers, released Tuesday by the Labor Department, were late because of the 43-day federal government shutdown. The November job gains came in higher than the 40,000 economists had forecast."
"American companies are mostly holding onto the employees they have. But they're reluctant to hire new ones as they struggle to assess how to use artificial intelligence and how to adjust to President Donald Trump's unpredictable policies, especially his double-digit taxes on imports from around the world. The uncertainty leaves jobseekers struggling to find work or even land interviews."
"Federal Reserve policymakers are divided over whether the labor market needs more help from lower interest rates. Their deliberations are rendered more difficult because official reports on the economy's health are coming in late and incomplete after a 43-day government shutdown. The unemployment rate, though still modest by historical standards, has risen since bottoming out at a 54-year low of 3.4% in April 2023."
November payrolls increased by 64,000 while October payrolls dropped by 105,000, driven largely by a 162,000 fall in federal employment tied to end-of-fiscal-year departures. The unemployment rate rose to 4.6%, the highest since 2021. Delays and revisions to the data followed a 43-day federal government shutdown, which complicated economic readings. Hiring momentum has slowed as companies hold existing staff but hesitate to add new workers amid uncertainty from high interest rates, President Trump's tariffs and tax policies, and firms' struggles to assess and implement artificial intelligence.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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