The U.S. economy gained 50,000 jobs in the final month of 2025 and the unemployment rate inched down to 4.4%. However, today’s data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics also includes revisions that show the economy lost 67,000 jobs over the last 3 months. Over the course of last year, the unemployment rate rose 0.4 percentage points, from 4.0% in January 2025. Approximately 659,000 more workers were unemployed in December than had been at the beginning of the year.
“There’s no question about it: Workers across the country are feeling the impact of the Trump administration’s disastrous policy choices,” said Rebecca Dixon, president and CEO of the National Employment Law Project. “Whether it’s the 277,000 federal public servants who are no longer serving their country, the 881,000 immigrant workers who have disappeared from the U.S. labor force, or the significant rise in unemployment among Black workers, the administration’s record is clear: Fierce attacks on civil rights safeguards, on health and safety protections, and on workers’ rights, and more unemployed workers overall.”
The industries with the greatest job losses over the course of 2025 include manufacturing, which lost 63,000 jobs since January 2025, and the federal government, which lost 277,000 jobs.
The health care sector had some of the largest job gains in 2025, adding 366,000 jobs. However, researchers at the Commonwealth Fund find that Congress’ decision to allow health care tax credits to expire could reverse many of these job gains in the coming months, leading to the loss of nearly 340,000 jobs in 2026 as sharply rising insurance costs push millions of people to become uninsured and under-insured, reducing health spending. Cuts to Medicaid will contribute to yet more job losses in the health care sector. These cuts were championed by the Trump administration.
Over the course of 2025, unemployment rose most for Black workers who have been severely harmed by the administration’s attacks on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts, policy reversals at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and cuts to the federal workforce. In December, the unemployment rate among Black workers was 7.5% compared to 6.2% in January 2025. The unemployment rate for Latinx workers was 4.9% in December. Among Asian workers, the unemployment rate was 3.6%. Unemployment for white workers was 3.8%. Disparities in unemployment rates are a result of structural racism in the U.S. labor market, including occupational segregation.
With job losses growing, Congress must strengthen unemployment insurance to better support workers of all backgrounds. Policymakers should enact The Unemployment Insurance Modernization and Recession Readiness Act, sponsored Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Representative Don Beyer (D-VA). The bill sets nationwide standards for UI, mandating that states offer at least 26 weeks of unemployment benefits, raising benefit amounts to replace a greater share of workers’ prior earnings, and increasing coverage for part-time workers, temp workers, and workers whose earnings fluctuate over time. The bill also establishes a new, federally funded Jobseekers Allowance to support jobless workers who would not otherwise be covered by unemployment insurance and modernizes the Extended Benefits program that makes additional weeks of unemployment benefits available in times of high unemployment. State policymakers across the country should also act to improve their state unemployment insurance systems to better support workers and the economy.
