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The job market had been expected to rebound this year from a lackluster 2025 when the economy, buffeted by President Donald Trump's erratic tariff policies, generated just 15,000 jobs a month.

Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer announced a proposed rule to rescind a controversial independent contractor rule in a move welcomed by the trucking industry.

The report included major revisions that reduced the number of jobs created last year to just 181,000, less than half the previously reported 584,000 and the weakest since the pandemic year of 2020.

The Labor Department reported Jan. 14 that its producer price index — which measures inflation before it reaches consumers — rose 0.2% in November from October and 3% from a year earlier.

Consumer prices rose 0.3% in December from the prior month, the Labor Department said Jan. 13, the same as in November. Excluding food and energy, core prices rose 0.2%.

Initial claims decreased by 6,000 to 216,000 in the week ended Nov. 22. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 225,000 applications.

The Labor Department said it will not release a full jobs report for October because the government shutdown meant it couldn't calculate the unemployment rate and some other key numbers.

The figures show that inflation continues to rise more slowly than many economists expected when President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs in April.

Since the start of the year, freight stakeholders have praised White House efforts on workforce reforms while pressing for additional recruitment and retention efforts.

The reading is the last data the Federal Reserve will receive before its key meeting next week, when policymakers are widely expected to cut their short-term rate to about 4.1% from 4.3%.