Unemployment Falls to 4.4 Percent as Economy Adds 50,000 Jobs in DecemberJohn Carney 9 Jan 2026
The U.S. labor market continued to grow at a softer pace in December, while the unemployment rate fell sharply.
The U.S. economy created 50,000 jobs in December, and the unemployment rate fell to 4.4 percent, the Labor Department said Friday.
Economists were expecting around 55,000 jobs, with forecasts ranging from 40,000 to 100,000, according to Econoday. Employment rose by 584,000 in 2025, an average monthly gain of 49,000.
Despite the headline jobs number falling short of expectations, the report is being interpreted by markets and analysts as a sign that the labor market has regained some of its footing. The market implied odds of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates at its meeting later this month fell to near zero, a signal that the market thinks the Fed will view these numbers as indicating that the labor market does not need additional support from monetary policy.
Employment continued to rise at restaurants and bars. Retail trade lost jobs. The federal government, which had been shedding jobs, added 2,000, perhaps reflecting the end of the government shutdown. Government-adjacent sectors of healthcare and social assistance added jobs.
Last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics published jobs data for October and November after the government shutdown delayed the collection and release of economic reports. It showed the economy added 64,000 jobs in November after losing 105,000 jobs in October. The unemployment rate was initially reported to have climbed to 4.6 percent in November, the highest in almost four years.
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https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2026/01/09/unemployment-falls-to-4-4-percent-as-economy-adds-50000-jobs-in-december/
