U.S. unemployment rate hits highest level in four years after release of weak jobs data

The unemployment rate in the United States continues to tick higher following the release of the country’s latest jobs data on Tuesday.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said 64,000 non-farm jobs were added in November after the economy shed 105,000 jobs in October.

That translated to an unemployment rate of 4.6%, up from 4.4% in September, a level not seen since September 2021.

Business news broadcaster CNBC said economists were mostly expecting a decline following the surprising 108,000 job additions in September.

October’s negative number is attributed to cuts to the U.S. government after deferred layoffs finally forced many federal employees out of work. There were 162,000 fewer employees in October and an additional 6,000 were unemployed by the end of November.

Manufacturing sector lost 5,000 jobs last month

Drilling down further, the U.S. manufacturing sector lost 5,000 jobs in November as U.S. President Donald Trump has waged a trade war and imposed tariffs on goods entering the country, raising prices for American consumers.

The U.S. economy added more than 100,000 jobs a month in the first four months of the year, but that number has fluctuated since May and largely followed a downward trend.

“The U.S. economy is in a jobs recession,” Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, told CNBC.

“The nation has added a mere 100,000 in the past six months. The bulk of those jobs were in healthcare, an industry that is almost always hiring due to America’s aging population.”

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Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer had a more positive outlook on the lacklustre job numbers at the tail end of the year while blaming former President Joe Biden for the present economy.

“November’s jobs report shows our economy continues to gain momentum despite the economic mess President Trump inherited from the Biden administration and the reckless Democrat shutdown,” Chavez-DeRemer said in a statement.

‘Investment has been booming’

“With 64,000 jobs added in November, more and more Americans are coming off the sidelines and working in the private sector. Investment has been booming thanks to the President’s America First policies, leading to strong nonresidential construction growth.”

Chavez-DeRemer added that job growth has mainly concentrated in the private sector while federal employment has retreated to its lowest level in a decade.

“The Trump Administration remains laser-focused on making life more affordable for all Americans,” she continued. “Average private sector weekly earnings are on track to rise 4.2% during the President’s first year in office, providing working families with more purchasing power as wages outpace inflation. We will continue to double down on our efforts to put American Workers First by building a Golden Age of economic prosperity.”

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Federal shutdown partly to blame

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said part of the blame for the recent sluggish numbers was due to the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history, adding the president is working on fixing the economic mess.

“The strong jobs report shows how President Trump is fixing the damage caused by Joe Biden and creating a strong, America First economy in record time,” Leavitt said in a statement.

“Since President Trump took office, 100% of the job growth has come in the private sector and among native-born Americans — exactly where it should be.”

She said, since September, the private sector added 121,000 jobs while the government cut 168,000 jobs in an effort to shrink federal bureaucracy.

“Workers’ wages are rising, prices are falling, trillions of dollars in investments are pouring into our country, and the American economy is primed to boom in 2026,” Leavitt said.