U.S. adds 64K jobs in November, unemployment steady

Audio By Carbonatix

(The Center Square) — The United States added 64,000 jobs in the month of November, according to the most recent jobs report. 

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics provided the November jobs report more than a week late due to the federal government shutdown from Oct. 1 to Nov. 12. The bureau did not release a jobs report for October but said the U.S. lost 105,000 jobs, mainly due to federal government cuts. 

November's report acknowledges a slowdown in job additions, with 119,000 jobs added in September. 

Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, said artificial intelligence, tariffs and cost-cutting are responsible for the slowdown in job creation. 

"The US economy is in a hiring recession," Long said in a post to social media on Tuesday. 

The unemployment rate in November was 4.6%, a slight increase from the 4.4% reported in September.

"A good part of the slowing likely reflects a decline in the growth of the labor force due to lower immigration and labor force participation, though labor demand has clearly softened as well," Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in a press conference last week. 

The two main economic sectors where jobs increased were the health care and construction industries. The health care industry added 46,000 jobs in November and construction added 28,000. 

November saw a decrease in the transportation and warehousing sector, with 18,000 jobs lost. The report said transportation and warehousing employment has declined by 78,000 since February.

The report found a decline of 6,000 federal government jobs in November. The decline follows a significant decline of 162,000 in October as federal employees who accepted deferred resignation offers were removed from federal payrolls.