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The US economy added 64,000 jobs in November as the unemployment rate crept up to 4.6%, according to Labor Department data published Tuesday.
The unemployment rate is now at its highest level since September 2021.
The November jobs report, originally scheduled to be published Dec. 5 before the 43-day government shutdown delayed multiple economic data releases, comes as Americans stress over rising layoffs and a frozen job market that can feel impossible to break into. Tuesday’s report suggested those conditions persisted toward the end of the year.
Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected a gain of 50,000 jobs. The healthcare sector, which has fueled job growth this year, added 46,000 positions for the month.
Read more: How jobs, inflation, and the Fed are all related
November’s data additionally showed that the number of people employed part-time for economic reasons rose to 5.5 million in November, an increase of 909,000 over September. Meanwhile, the long-term unemployment rate, or the share of unemployed people who have been without jobs for 27 weeks or more, was 24.3% in November, down from August’s high of 25.7% but higher than the rate of 23.1% seen a year ago.
“The US economy is in a hiring recession,” Heather Long, chief economist at the Navy Federal Credit Union, wrote in a post on X.
“Almost no jobs have been added since April,” Long added. “Wage gains are slowing. 710,000 more people are unemployed now versus November 2024.”
Nancy Vanden Houten, lead US Economist at Oxford Economics, said in a statement that the government shutdown appears to have contributed to the increase in the unemployment rate.
“The number of permanent job losers, which had been ticking higher, declined. Labor force growth also contributed to the increase,” she said.
Partial data for October, also published Tuesday, showed a loss of 105,000 positions. The unemployment rate for the month will not be released. Bank of America economist Shruti Mishra had noted that October’s payroll numbers would be affected by the delayed impact of DOGE-led government job cuts, since many federal employees who opted for the “deferred resignation program” officially left their positions Sept. 30.