unemployment

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Jobs Report Comes in Unexpectedly Weak

Labor Department says US lost 92K jobs last month

(Newser) - American employers unexpectedly cut 92,000 jobs last month, a sign that the labor market remains under strain. The unemployment rate blipped up to 4.4%, the AP reports. The Labor Department reported Friday that hiring deteriorated from January, in which companies, nonprofits, and government agencies added 126,000 jobs....

GDP Comes In Much Weaker Than Expected

It rises 1.4% in fourth quarter, well below expectations

(Newser) - Economic momentum took a clear hit at the end of last year, with the record-long government shutdown and a slowdown in consumer spending taking the blame. New data from the Commerce Department shows the US economy expanded at a 1.4% annual rate in the fourth quarter—barely more than...

Tight Job Market Births 'Reverse Recruiters'

Job seekers are flipping the traditional job recruiter model

(Newser) - Job hunting has gone pay-to-play. The Wall Street Journal reports that as white-collar hiring freezes spread and applicant pools swell, a growing number of candidates are now paying recruiters directly—reversing a system in which employers traditionally footed the bill to find talent. "Reverse recruiters" pitch themselves to job...

Young Workers' Job Woes Aren't All in Their Heads

As the data shows that the average age of a new hire now sits at 42

(Newser) - Landing that first "real" job is getting tougher for new grads—and the data suggests it's not just in their heads. The Washington Post reports that as employers grow more cautious in an uncertain economy and AI reshapes roles, they're increasingly favoring experience over potential. Revelio Labs...

Sluggish Jobs Numbers Lower Than Expected

December hiring is sluggish, typical for the 2025

(Newser) - Sluggish hiring last month closed out a year of weak employment gains even as layoffs and unemployment have also been low, per the AP . It was, in other words, a "low hire, low fire" year, as the Wall Street Journal puts it. The details:
  • Numbers: Employers added 50,000
...

Unemployment Now at Highest Level Since 2021

It hovers at 4.6%; meanwhile, 64K jobs were gained in November, but 105K were lost in October

(Newser) - The United States gained a decent 64,000 jobs in November, but it lost 105,000 in October as federal workers departed after cutbacks by the Trump administration, the government said in delayed reports. The unemployment rate rose to 4.6%, the highest level since 2021, per the AP . Both...

Delayed Jobs Report Beats Expectations

Employers added 119K jobs in September, about double what was anticipated

(Newser) - The new jobs report is out, and it shows that hiring was significantly stronger than expected in September. The report—delayed for weeks because of the government shutdown—is the last key piece of labor data the Federal Reserve will have ahead of its next meeting in December. Takeaways:
  • Main
...

We're Finally Getting September's Jobs Report

Labor Department to release shutdown-delayed numbers on Thursday, a month and a half late

(Newser) - The Labor Department will release its numbers on September hiring and unemployment next Thursday, a month and a half late, marking the beginning of the end of a data drought caused by the 43-day federal government shutdown. The statistical blackout meant that the Federal Reserve, businesses, policymakers, and investors have...

College Students 'Cover Their Bases' With 2 Majors

Fears about job market, unemployment rate push students to seek extra credentials

(Newser) - As uncertainty about the job market grows, more US college students are hedging their bets by double-majoring. Nearly 1 in 3 students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, for example, now pursue two majors, a trend that has surged 25% over the past decade, according to the National Center for Education...

Consumer Sentiment Sinks Faster Than Expected

It's now near an all-time low, according to new index

(Newser) - US consumer sentiment has fallen to one of its lowest points on record, reports the Wall Street Journal . The University of Michigan's latest index slipped to 50.3 in November from 53.6 the previous month, a much sharper drop than expected. Analysts polled by the newspaper anticipated a...

October Layoffs the Worst Since 2003

More than 150K add to the year's recession-like unemployment numbers

(Newser) - Layoffs in the US have reached recession-level numbers, reports the Washington Post , which cites new data from the private firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas to back that up:
  • So far this year, employers have announced 1.1 million job cuts, a figure in line with the Great Recession of 2008-09,
...

ADP Gives Us a Sense of What Happened in October

Private employers added jobs for first time since July

(Newser) - With the October jobs report all but certain to not materialize on Friday due to the shutdown, a meaningful outside data point: Payroll processor ADP on Wednesday said America's private sector added 42,000 jobs in October, besting expectations of 22,000 fresh jobs and an improvement from September'...

China Has a Major Domestic Spending Problem

Consumer-goods subsidies haven't made much of an impact

(Newser) - China's economy has a new problem: its own consumers. While global shoppers are snapping up Chinese goods at record rates despite tariffs and trade tensions, Chinese citizens themselves are keeping their wallets closed, the New York Times reports. The result is an economy increasingly reliant on exports, even as...

Companies' Reports Are No More Reassuring on Jobs

Data replacing BLS information point to fewer hires and rising unemployment claims

(Newser) - With official labor statistics absent during the federal shutdown, Wall Street is sifting through alternative sources —and the signals aren't rosy. Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and private equity giant Carlyle Group all see a cooling US job market, with rising unemployment and fewer positions being added....

CBO: Economy Will Get Worse Before It Gets Better

Agency predicts grim picture on unemployment, inflation in 2025, before improvement in '26

(Newser) - President Trump's tariff policies, immigration crackdowns, and sweeping tax and spending law are expected to increase jobless rates and inflation and lower overall growth this year before they improve next year, according to a new report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The CBO on Friday released new economic...

Americans Are Growing Less Sure They Can Land New Work

New survey from Federal Reserve Bank of New York isn't a hugely optimistic one

(Newser) - Americans' belief in their ability to land a new job has hit a record low, according to a new survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In August, respondents put their "perceived probability" of finding work after a job loss at just 44.9%—down 5....

Latest Sign of Softening Labor Market Emerges

The number of Americans filing last week was 263K, a 4-year high

(Newser) - US jobless claim applications jumped to their highest level in almost four years last week, reports the AP , the latest sign that the labor market is softening. The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the week ending Sept. 6 rose 27,000 to 263,000, the Labor Department...

New Jobs Report Is Weaker Than Expected

Employers added only 22K jobs in first report since Trump fired Labor Department official

(Newser) - The new jobs report is out, the first one since President Trump fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and accused her of rigging the numbers. The August report hasn't changed the narrative much, however: It suggests the labor market continued to cool off over the summer....

First Jobs Report Since Trump Fired Official Is Due

Economists expect weak numbers for August

(Newser) - The Bureau of Labor Statistics is set to drop its latest jobs report on Friday, and there's more than usual riding on the numbers. This is the first report since President Trump abruptly fired the agency's commissioner , Erika McEntarfer, after an unexpectedly weak July jobs tally and...

Americans' Outlook on the Future Isn't So Perky

Nearly 70% don't believe in the so-called American dream anymore, per new WSJ -NORC poll

(Newser) - A new Wall Street Journal-NORC poll paints a dim picture of Americans' faith in upward mobility. Just 25% of respondents believe they have a decent shot at improving their standard of living—a record low since the survey began in 1987. More than three-quarters of those who responded to...

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