Trump’s Losing Streak Continues as Jobs Report Shows Weak 2025 Labor Market

The latest jobs report shows the United States added 50,000 jobs in December 2025, and prior months revised down by a combined 76,000 jobs. The unemployment rate remains elevated at 4.4% and is near its highest levels of the past four years. The December report caps a year of sluggish job growth, with the fewest number of jobs added outside of a recession since 2003. Hiring slowed sharply over the course of 2025 as Trump’s erratic economic policies froze the labor market.

Groundwork Collaborative’s Chief of Policy and Advocacy Alex Jacquez released the following statement:

“December’s job report confirms that Trump’s reckless trade policies and lifeless economy are costing Americans dearly. Working families face sluggish wage growth, fewer job opportunities, and never-ending price hikes on groceries, household essentials, and utilities. Despite the President’s endless attempts to deflect and distract from the bleak economic reality, workers and job seekers know their budgets feel tighter than ever thanks to Trump’s disastrous economic mismanagement.”

Job growth in 2025 fell far behind last year’s pace. Total job growth in 2025 was just 584,000, compared to 2 million jobs added in 2024 — a 71% slowdown.

Job gains remain narrowly concentrated in a small number of sectors. In December, job gains were concentrated in education and health services. Retail trade lost 25,000 jobs this holiday season, as budgets continue to be squeezed. The U.S. is shedding blue-collar jobs for the first time since the pandemic, with roughly 60,000 job losses in manufacturing, transportation and warehousing, and mining in 2025 while construction jobs stall out.

Long-term unemployment remains elevated. The number of people unemployed for six months or more remains at 1.9 million, increasing by roughly 400,000 compared to the year before. This points to rising financial strain for job seekers and growing unease among workers about job stability.

Official payroll statistics may overstate the number of jobs the economy is creating. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned in December that headline job gains may be overstated by as many as 60,000 jobs per month. This is because the Bureau of Labor Statistics has to estimate job gains and losses at new and closing businesses that are difficult to survey directly. The lackluster jobs reports throughout 2025 may paint an overly rosy picture of the labor market.

New hiring has ground to a halt. The latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey data show that job openings fell to about 7.1 million in November from nearly 7.5 million in October, while the hiring rate dropped to 3.2 percent, one of the lowest levels since April 2020, when the pandemic-induced recession was underway. According to data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, U.S. employers sharply pulled back on hiring plans in 2025. Announced hires fell to about 508,000, down 34 percent from nearly 770,000 in 2024, the lowest annual total since 2010, signaling much weaker employer confidence in expanding their workforce.