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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.

Employers added just 50,000 jobs last month, nearly unchanged from a downwardly revised figure of 56,000 in November, the Labor Department said Jan. 9. The unemployment rate slipped to 4.4%.

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.

Economists have flagged the consumer price index and unemployment rate for October as those most likely at risk of not coming out due to how the data underpinning them is collected.

"This comes as AI adoption, softening consumer and corporate spending, and rising costs drive belt-tightening and hiring freezes,” Challenger, Gray & Christmas said in the report.

Private sector payrolls decreased by 32,000 after a revised 3,000 decline a month earlier, according to ADP Research data released Oct. 1.

Many federal operations will pause and nonessential employees will be furloughed or fired if lawmakers can’t reach an agreement by the time the current fiscal year ends on Sept. 30.

The decline unwinds a large jump in the prior week, when initial claims rose to the highest level in nearly four years. That period included Labor Day, when the data can be more volatile.

Unemployment rates were higher in more than three-quarters of metropolitan areas in the U.S. last month compared with a year ago.

WASHINGTON — The number of Americans signing up for unemployment benefits fell slightly last week, another sign that the labor market remains strong and most workers enjoy job security.