The U.S. economy is adding jobs in health care and construction as other sectors stagnate or contract.
The U.S. economy lost 41,000 jobs in October and November, and the unemployment rate rose to its highest level since 2021 as the labor market cools amid continued economic uncertainty from tariffs and immigration policies.
The U.S. economy added 64,000 jobs in November after shedding 105,000 jobs in October, according to a report released Tuesday by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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The unemployment rate was 4.6%, up from 4.4% in September. The government shutdown in October and November prevented the U.S. government from collecting key data used to gauge economic conditions, such as the unemployment rate in October.
October’s job losses reflect 162,000 federal employees who lost their jobs as a result of contract buyout deferrals that expired at the end of September.
Another 6,000 government jobs were lost in November. Increases were seen in the health care, social assistance, and construction sectors. The healthcare sector added 46,000 jobs. This is higher than the average of 39,000 jobs gained in the sector over the past 12 months.
Construction jobs increased by 28,000 jobs, consistent with the average increase over the past year. The social assistance sector added 18,000 jobs.
Transportation and warehousing lost 18,000 jobs. Employment in the manufacturing industry is also on the decline. The sector cut 5,000 jobs in November, after adding 5,000 jobs in September and 9,000 in October.
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett told reporters Tuesday that he expects manufacturing jobs to increase over the next six months.
His assessment was driven by increased construction employment and investment in manufacturing, indicating that job growth is on the horizon.
The number of people working part-time for financial reasons also rose to 5.5 million, an increase of 909,000 from September.
“Today’s long-awaited jobs report confirms what we already suspected: (President Donald Trump’s) economy is stalling, and American workers are paying the price,” Alex Jacques, director of policy and advocacy at economic think tank Groundwork Collaborative, said in a statement.
“Far from sparking a manufacturing renaissance, President Trump’s reckless trade policies are destroying working-class jobs, forcing layoffs, and raising prices for businesses and consumers alike.”
The data comes after the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.5% to 3.75% in response to the cooling labor environment.
“The labor market continues to cool gradually, but … a little more slowly than we had expected,” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said after last week’s decision to cut interest rates.
On Wall Street, markets fell slightly following the employment report. In midday trading, the Nasdaq was down 0.4%, the S&P 500 was down 0.5% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.4% below its opening price.
