MNI BRIEF: US Dec Jobless Rate Surprises Lower At 4.4%

The U.S. unemployment rate unexpectedly fell back to 4.375% in December, from a downwardly revised 4.54% in November, while hiring slowed to 50,000 and previous months totals were revised down by a large 76,000 payrolls, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday. Wall Street had expected 70,000 jobs and a 4.5% jobless rate. 

Employment continued to trend up in food services and drinking places, health care and social assistance, and retail lost jobs, the BLS said. Over 2025, average monthly job gains fell to 49,000 from 168,000 the year prior. The federal government recorded job losses of 277,000 over the year, about 9% of its workforce, the BLS said. 

The average workweek fell 0.1 hour to 34.2 and average hourly earnings added 0.3% to USD37.02. The federal government shutdown did not impact the collection of household survey data for December, the BLS said. (See: MNI INTERVIEW: Fed’s Miran Sees Substantial Rate Cuts In 2026)