Total nonfarm payroll rose by 50,000 jobs in December, and the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.4%, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its Employment Situation report released Jan. 9.
Economists said the numbers pointed to a cooling, cautious market for both job seekers and employers, putting a final pin on a year marked by slowed growth.
“While this isn’t terrible news, the reality is that in all of 2025 there wasn’t a single month when employers added more than 168,000 jobs — the average monthly gain in 2024,” Laura Ullrich, director of economic research, North America, at Indeed Hiring Lab, said in a statement.
Uncertainty reigned over 2025, due in part to tariffs, the government shutdown and general recalibration in the face of artificial intelligence tools changing the market, economists said. In turn, employers have turned “more selective,” Rick Hermanns, president and CEO of HireQuest, said in a statement, “but they haven’t stopped hiring, and layoff rates hit their lowest level in December since mid-2024.”
Generally, companies are prioritizing hiring for roles that have a direct tie to revenue, operations and technology, Ger Doyle, regional president, North America at ManpowerGroup, said in a statement. Job postings are also staying open for less time compared to two years ago, Doyle added.
The market’s growing stratification between jobs that can be automated and those that require hands-on, human skills remains firmly in place moving into 2026.
“The next phase of the job market will be defined less by headline growth and more by where work is truly needed,” Hermanns said.