BLS Data Signals Trouble: November Payrolls Up 64K, Unemployment at Highest Since 2021

• The US labor market showed weakness in November, adding only 64,000 jobs while the unemployment rate rose to 4.6%, its highest since September 2021.
• Healthcare drove most of the gains with 46,000 new positions, but significant federal job losses of 162,000 in October and 6,000 in November, along with a rise in part-time employment for economic reasons to 5.5 million, highlighted ongoing hiring challenges.
• Economists described the situation as ‘a hiring recession,’ noting minimal net job growth since April, 710,000 more unemployed individuals compared to the prior year, and impacts from a 43-day government shutdown.

The latest employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals a labor market facing persistent challenges, with nonfarm payrolls increasing by 64,000 jobs in November while the unemployment rate rose to 4.6%, marking its highest level since September 2021. This uptick in unemployment reflects broader pressures, including a significant rise in the number of individuals employed part-time for economic reasons, which reached 5.5 million in November following an increase of 909,000 since September.

Healthcare continued to drive much of the limited job growth, adding 46,000 positions in November, a sector that has consistently supported employment gains throughout the year. However, the overall pace of hiring has remained subdued, with economists noting that the federal government shed 162,000 jobs in October and an additional 6,000 in November, largely attributed to the delayed effects of the deferred resignation program implemented earlier. Partial October data indicated a net loss of 105,000 positions across the economy, underscoring the uneven recovery.

Long-term unemployment dynamics showed mixed signals, with the share of unemployed individuals jobless for 27 weeks or more standing at 24.3% in November, down from 25.7% in August but elevated compared to 23.1% a year earlier. Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, described the situation as ‘a hiring recession,’ highlighting that almost no net jobs have been added since April and that 710,000 more people are unemployed compared to November 2024. Nancy Vanden Houten, lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, told Yahoo Finance that the recent 43‑day government shutdown contributed to the rise in the unemployment rate, citing factors such as labor force growth and a decline in permanent job losers.

The November report, delayed due to the shutdown’s impact on data collection and originally scheduled for earlier release, exceeded Bloomberg-surveyed economists’ expectations of 50,000 job gains but still signaled ongoing difficulties for job seekers amid reports of rising layoffs and a constrained hiring environment. Prior months had seen negative employment readings in August and June, the first such instances since 2020, before an uptick in September that provided only temporary relief. These developments occur against a backdrop of economic uncertainty, with the labor market’s softness raising questions about sustained growth heading into the new year.

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