US employment report: 64,000 jobs created in November 2025, but unemployment at four-year-high

US employers added 64,000 jobs in November 2025, but lost 105,000 in October, the government said in delayed reports released on Tuesday.

The unemployment rate, meanwhile, rose to 4.6%, the highest in the country since 2021.

The addition of 64,000 non-farm jobs as reported by the US Labor Department beat the expectations of economists polled by Reuters, who had predicted a 50,000 rise in November.

Meanwhile, loss of jobs in October reflected the departure of thousands of US federal government workers who took deferred buyouts of the Donald Trump administration’s push to reduce the size of the government.

Data showed that Federal payrolls had decreased by 162,000 in October, followed by another 6,000 in November.

The numbers for both October and November came in late because of the 43-day US federal government shutdown, the longest in US history.

Sectoral gains and losses

In November, the healthcare sector alone added 46,000 jobs in the US, with the highest growth being in ambulatory services (24,000), hospitals (11,000), and nurses and residential facilities (11,000).

The second biggest gainer was the construction sector, which added 28,000 jobs, including 19,000 by non-residential specialty trade contractors.

Employment in social assistance also grew by a total of 18,000 in November, including 13,000 jobs in individual and family services.

In terms of job losses, there was a marked decline in the transportation and warehousing sector, which saw 18,000 job losses in November, specifically in jobs relating to couriers and messengers.

There was little noticeable change in other sectors such mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; retail trade; information; financial activities; professional and business services; leisure and hospitality; and other services.

Rising unemployment

November’s four-year-high unemployment rate of 4.6% was up from 4.4 % in September: there was no joblessness data for October as officials were unable to retroactively collect data after the US government shutdown, which lasted till 12 November.

While modest by historical standards, the rising rate of unemployment, which had hit a 54-year low of 3.4% in April 2023, will be of some concern, with the US Federal Reserve already having slashed rates three times in a row this year and hinting at a higher bar for future cuts.

That said, a weakening job market could nudge the central bank into lowering rates even further to spur the economy, which could lead to higher inflation becoming persistent.