Job growth slowed markedly in Trump's first year back in office

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The slowdown comes even as the economy is rapidly growing and inflation is more muted than many analysts had feared.

Donald Trump speaks about the economy, inflation, and manufacturing during a campaign event at Alro Steel on Aug. 29, 2024, in Potterville, Michigan. | Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

The U.S. economy added 584,000 jobs in 2025, the slowest annual growth outside of a recession since 2003, reflecting the low-hire, low-fire labor market conditions that have prevailed during the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term.

Employers added 50,000 jobs in December, the Labor Department reported Friday, slightly below expectations, but the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.4 percent. That’s below the 4.5 percent rate reported for November, but joblessness overall has crept up from the 4 percent rate reported in January 2025, when Trump took office again.