Strip out health care and social services, the U.S. lost jobs in 2025—something that usually happens in recessions

Without hiring from the health care and social assistance industries, the U.S. economy lost jobs in 2025—an uncomfortable reality hidden beneath modest payroll gains and an improved unemployment rate.

Nonfarm payrolls rose by 50,000 in December, while the unemployment rate edged down to 4.4%, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. But the December gain did little to change the broader picture: employers added just 584,000 jobs in all of 2025, a sharp decline from 2 million jobs in 2024.