November BLS jobs data show the good, bad, and ugly, analysts say
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The U.S. unemployment rate is the highest it's been since the Covid pandemic, despite employers hiring more people than expected in November, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.The economy added 64,000 non-farm payroll jobs in November, well ahead of the 45,000 jobs economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected.Worst layoff years through November2020: 2.23 million2001: 1.96 million2002: 1.37 million2009: 1.24 million2025: 1.17 million2003: 1.14 million Source: Challenger, Gray, & Christmas Despite the increase, the unemployment rate for the month rose to 4.6% from 4.4% in September (the BLS did not release an October report due to the government shutdown), the highest it's been since 2021. The September numbers were initially scheduled to be published on October 3, but the government shutdown delayed their release by 48 days to November 20. Once it was released, the data showed that unemployment ticked up again to 4.4%, despite 119,000 new jobs being created in the month.However, the Dec. 16 report revised August's jobs number down by 22,000 and September's number down by 11,000 to 108,000 jobs added.Construction jobs saw a rebound in the month, and one analyst identified an unlikely culprit for the increase. U.S. employers added 28,000 construction jobs in November.Photo by Justin Sullivan on Getty Images Construction jobs rebound, thanks to AIU.S. employers added 28,000 construction jobs in November, driven by "specialty trade contractors," which added 19,000."The growth in construction is in line with continued expectations for the AI and automation buildouts," Scott Helfstein, head of investment strategy at ETF firm Global X, told TheStreet. Related: Job seekers get mixed messages from October job openings dataLargest private U.S. employers:Walmart: 1.6 million employeesAmazon: 1.1 million employeesUPS: 443,000 employeesTarget: 427,346 employeesHome Depot: 418,000 employees Source: Ringover Tech companies are expected to invest as much as $4 trillion in AI infrastructure development through 2030. As of August, private spending on data center construction was running at an annualized rate of more than $41 billion, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Last year, the U.S. added 190,000 construction jobs, but raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reversed those gains. Nationally, about one in five workers is foreign-born, but in the construction industry, the figure is approximately one in three, according to the National Association of Home Builders.Therefore, the U.S. government's policy has been actively exacerbating chronic construction labor shortages, which currently exceed 439,000 workers, Construction Dive noted.ICE has been conducting raids at construction sites and supply stores where day laborers gather for work projects. BLS November report has bad news mixed in with the goodThe November jobs report was mixed. Better-than-expected hiring is mixed in with a higher unemployment rate. The 64,000 jobs added are mixed with revisions of 11,000 fewer jobs added in September and 22,000 more jobs lost in August than initially reported. Related: November job losses hit two US regions the hardestAnd even with the jobs added, many aren't long-term solutions. “Within accounting, finance, and HR, October and November largely continued the patterns we’ve seen throughout the fall," Jeff Bonci, president of account, finance and HR at The Planet Group, told TheStreet. "Permanent hiring softened modestly as employers grew more cautious about making long-term commitments, while contract activity remained steady and strengthened in certain pockets as organizations prioritized flexibility," Ponci said.So cracks are appearing in a modestly positive jobs report as the U.S. looks to close out the year on a positive economic note. However, the slight uptick raises more questions than answers about what job seekers can expect in 2026. "The big question perhaps for 2026 is whether the job market will thaw or whether it cracks. There is enough positive momentum in the economy to remain optimistic, but the labor market is one potential source of weakness next year," Helfstein said. Related: US layoffs are pandemic-era bad