The United States economy recorded a gain of 50,000 nonfarm payrolls in December 2025, a figure that came in below the market's expectation of 60,000 new jobs. This data, released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Friday, January 9, 2026, also revealed that the unemployment rate saw a slight decline to 4.4% in December, down from a revised 4.6% in November. However, the overall picture for 2025 indicated a significant slowdown in job growth compared to the previous year, with only 584,000 jobs added throughout 2025, marking the weakest year for job gains outside of a recession since 2009. Further details from the report showed that revisions to previous months' data led to a combined downward adjustment of 76,000 jobs for October and November. Employment increases were primarily observed in sectors such as food services and drinking places, health care, and social assistance, while the retail trade sector experienced job losses. The labor force participation rate remained largely unchanged at 62.4%. The December 2025 jobs report highlights a cooling labor market, with implications for Federal Reserve policy and global financial markets.