Employers likely added 40,000 jobs in November as government releases report delayed by shutdown

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9. MaddowBlog-Unemployment rate reaches a four-year high as Trump's economic woes continue

Last edited Wed Dec 17, 2025, 07:01 PM - Edit history (1)

Unemployment rate reaches a four-year high as Trump’s economic woes continue

Trump, last week: “When will I get credit for having created ... perhaps the Greatest Economy in the History of our Country?”

Reality, this week: The unemployment rate has reached a four-year high and 2025 is the worst year for job growth since the Great Recession. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-12-16T14:05:51.941Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/unemployment-rate-reaches-a-four-year-high-as-trumps-economic-woes-continue

Expectations heading into Tuesday morning were that the economy added roughly 45,000 jobs in November. As it turns out, according to the latest BLS report, those expectations were pretty close to being right. CNBC reported:

Nonfarm payrolls grew slightly more than expected in November, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday in numbers delayed by the government shutdown. Job growth totaled 64,000 for the month. … The unemployment rate rose to 4.6%, more than expected. In addition to the November report, the BLS released an abbreviated October count that showed payrolls down 105,000.

None of this is good news. For one thing, the addition of 64,000 jobs in November reflects a weak job market that’s failing to keep up with population growth. For another, the totals from August and September were revised down, showing 33,000 fewer jobs than previously reported.

But it’s the climbing unemployment rate that really stands out: While 4.6% might seem like a decent number in the abstract, it’s also the highest jobless rate Americans have seen since September 2021. What’s more, the figure is up nearly half a point since Trump returned to office in January......

Last week, as polls showed public support for Trump’s handling of the economy sinking to embarrassing depths, the president responded with a social media message rooted in pathetic self-pity.

“When will I get credit for having created … perhaps the Greatest Economy in the History of our Country?” the Republican wrote. “When will people understand what is happening? When will Polls reflect the Greatness of America at this point in time, and how bad it was just one year ago?”

This obviously isn’t the greatest economy in American history; expecting Americans to be grateful for failure is preposterous; and a year ago, the job market was generating far more jobs with a lower unemployment rate.

Indeed, the question for the president and his White House team is simple: If Trump has created “the Greatest Economy in the History of our Country,” why has American job growth slowed to a 15-year low?