There was one word getting thrown around after this morning’s jobs report: Goldilocks. “It was soft enough that the Fed has room to continue to ease. Yet it wasn’t so soft that you could call it a stall,

Still, there was good news. The unemployment rate dipped to 4.4%, slightly better than the 4.5% forecast and below the November rate of 4.6%, which was its highest level in four years. The December unemployment rate suggests that labor demand remains reasonably solid.

On Friday at 8:30 a.m. ET, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the latest snapshot on the health of the US labor market – and economists’ estimates vary wildly over what we should expect for the final jobs report of 2025.

A drop in the unemployment rate may ease concerns at the U.S. central bank about labor market weakness, with traders betting Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has delivered his last interest rate cut before his term ends in May and leaving any further policy easing in the hands of whomever President Donald Trump taps as Powell's successor.

The latest employment numbers have dropped—and the job market still looks tough for workers. Today’s jobs report shares data from November, which was delayed due to the government shutdown that lifted last month. As jobs growth has slowed in recent ...

Job hunts are getting desperate for Americans who find themselves locked out of stable, full-time work in a stagnant job market.

The US job market has been frozen in a low-hire, low-fire state thanks to economic uncertainty, tariffs, and more. That could end in 2026.