Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
The unemployment rate rose to its four-year high of 4.6%, up from 4.4% year over year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Positively, employers added 64,000 jobs in November.
Household survey data for October 2025 were not collected due to the federal government shutdown. Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for teenagers was 16.3% in November, an increase from September.
In November, both the labor force participation rate (62.5%) and the employment-population ratio (59.6%) were little changed from September. These measures showed little or no change over the year.
Payrolls were not impacted by the furloughing of workers during the shutdown, as they were retroactively paid when the government reopened. Federal government employment decreased by 6,000 positions and is down by 271,000 since peaking in January.
Transportation and warehousing employment dropped by 18,000 jobs, reflecting job losses for couriers and messengers, according to Reuters.
Job growth has been little changed since April. Economists say employers have pulled back from hiring because of what some described as shock from Trump’s sweeping import tariffs.
