Final jobs report for 2025 set for release on Friday

Questions are swirling about the state of the US job market as economists and workers grapple with a weak hiring rate and paltry job gains.

Emma Ockerman
Thu, January 8, 2026 at 3:37 PM EST 2 min read

The federal government will release December’s unemployment rate and payroll changes Friday morning, helping to make sense of a cooling labor market that has flashed some mixed signals this week.

A Bloomberg survey of economists estimates a median gain of 70,000 jobs in the final jobs report for 2025 and an unemployment rate of 4.5% after November’s data showed an addition of 64,000 positions and jobless rate of 4.6%. The Chicago Fed, meanwhile, sees the unemployment rate holding steady..

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