December US Nonfarm Payrolls Rise Less Than Expected, Unemployment Rate Declines

08:40 AM EST, 01/09/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The December employment report showed nonfarm payrolls rose by 50,000, below the 70,000-jobs increase expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg, while November payrolls were revised down to a 56,000 increase and October payrolls were revised down to a 173,000 decrease, for a net downward revision of 76,000.

Private payrolls rose by 37,000 in December after a 50,000 increase in November, well below the increase of 75,000 private jobs expected. Leisure and hospitality jobs rose by 47,000 while health care and social assistance payrolls rose by 38,500.

Government payrolls rose by 13,000 after a gain of 6,000.

The unemployment rate fell to 4.4% in December from 4.5% in November, compared with a 4.5% rate expected, while the labor force participation rate fell to 62.4% from 62.5% in November and the size of the labor force declined. Household employment rose while the number of unemployed declined.

Hourly earnings rose by 0.3%, as expected, and following a 0.2% increase in November. Hourly earnings were up 3.8% year-over-year.

The average workweek fell to 34.2 hours from 34.3 hours in November, below the 34.3 hours expected.

The monthly employment report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics consists of two separate surveys and is considered the most important data release for the month. The survey of businesses measures the levels of employment and wages and the length of the average workweek, broken down by industry.

The survey of households measures the number of people working or looking for work, the unemployment rate, those that have left the workforce and reasons for part-time work.

Market reaction can be mixed, particularly when the two surveys disagree. A strong increase in employment or a decline in the unemployment rate is generally a positive for stocks as sign of a strong US economy, but bonds would react negatively to the same news, particularly if wages rise sharply at the same time.

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