Monthly jobs statistics are always closely watched in the United States and around the world, but it was inevitable that the latest report from the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics would generate more interest than usual.
The recent government shutdown uprooted the BLS’s collection of employment data, throwing off its usual schedule for informing the public about the job market in the world’s preeminent global economic superpower. Ahead of the release of the latest figures, observers were largely in the dark about hirings through much of the fall season.
Expectations heading into Tuesday morning were that the economy added roughly 45,000 jobs in November. As it turns out, according to the latest BLS report, those expectations were pretty close to being right. CNBC reported:
Nonfarm payrolls grew slightly more than expected in November, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday in numbers delayed by the government shutdown. Job growth totaled 64,000 for the month. … The unemployment rate rose to 4.6%, more than expected. In addition to the November report, the BLS released an abbreviated October count that showed payrolls down 105,000.
None of this is good news. For one thing, the addition of 64,000 jobs in November reflects a weak job market that’s failing to keep up with population growth. For another, the totals from August and September were revised down, showing 33,000 fewer jobs than previously reported.
But it’s the climbing unemployment rate that really stands out: While 4.6% might seem like a decent number in the abstract, it’s also the highest jobless rate Americans have seen since September 2021. What’s more, the figure is up nearly half a point since Trump returned to office in January.
If that weren’t quite enough, this report also shows the U.S. manufacturing sector losing 5,000 jobs in November, despite the White House’s misguided claims about “factories going up all over.”
As for the larger context, 2025 remains on track to be the worst year for U.S. job creation since the Great Recession (excluding the job losses from the 2020 pandemic).
Last week, as polls showed public support for Trump’s handling of the economy sinking to embarrassing depths, the president responded with a social media message rooted in pathetic self-pity.
“When will I get credit for having created … perhaps the Greatest Economy in the History of our Country?” the Republican wrote. “When will people understand what is happening? When will Polls reflect the Greatness of America at this point in time, and how bad it was just one year ago?” This obviously isn’t the greatest economy in American history; expecting Americans to be grateful for failure is preposterous; and a year ago, the job market was generating far more jobs with a lower unemployment rate. Indeed, the question for the president and his White House team is simple: If Trump has created “the Greatest Economy in the History of our Country,” why has American job growth slowed to a 15-year low? This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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