FX.co ★ US Job Growth Below Forecasts

In December 2025, the United States economy saw an addition of 50,000 payrolls, a slight decline from the downwardly revised 56,000 jobs reported in November, and below the anticipated 60,000. Employment advances were observed in sectors like food services and drinking establishments (27,000 jobs), health care (21,000 jobs), and social assistance (17,000 jobs), whereas retail trade experienced a decrease of 25,000 positions. Meanwhile, federal government employment remained relatively stable, and no significant employment shifts occurred in mining, quarrying, oil and gas extraction, construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, information, financial activities, professional, and business services. The overall change in nonfarm payroll employment for October was downgraded by 68,000, resulting in a net loss of 173,000, and November's figure was adjusted downwards by 8,000 to reflect a total of 56,000. These revisions indicate that employment in October and November combined is 76,000 lower than initially reported. For the entirety of 2025, payroll employment witnessed a growth of 584,000, averaging a monthly increase of 49,000, a notable drop compared to the 2.0 million rise in 2024.