2025 was marked by relatively strong job growth in the first few months, followed by cooling, with some months showing net job losses after revisions.

Still, there was good news. The unemployment rate dipped to 4.4%, slightly better than the 4.5% forecast and below the November rate of 4.6%, which was its highest level in four years. The December unemployment rate suggests that labor demand remains reasonably solid.

On Friday at 8:30 a.m. ET, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the latest snapshot on the health of the US labor market – and economists’ estimates vary wildly over what we should expect for the final jobs report of 2025.

The monthly employment roundup is perhaps the most significant economic indicator compiled by the government or private sector.

There was one word getting thrown around after this morning’s jobs report: Goldilocks. “It was soft enough that the Fed has room to continue to ease. Yet it wasn’t so soft that you could call it a stall,

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, total nonfarm payroll employment in December rose by 50,000, while the unemployment rate slipped to 4.4 percent. The agency reported that most of the gains came from food services and drinking places,

Follow MarketWatch's live coverage of the U.S. jobs report for December, as investors look for a clearer picture of the challenging 2025 labor market.

US stocks rose on Friday as investors assessed the December jobs report and braced for a possible Supreme Court ruling on President Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs. Markets on Friday are focused on two potential catalysts: the December jobs report and the chance of a decision from the Supreme Court on the legality of Trump's sweeping tariffs.