Democratic Party - Democratic National Committee
01/09/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/09/2026 09:24
NEW: Donald Trump’s Job Market is Faltering — Layoffs Reach Highest Levels Since 2020 Arrow
The jobs report released today shows a weakening job market under Donald Trump, as the economy added just 50,000 jobs in December. Monthly job growth in 2025 averaged 49,000 - the slowest annual job growth since 2003, when excluding recessions. The manufacturing sector lost 8,000 jobs in November - the eighth straight month of losses - bringing total manufacturing job losses under Trump to 63,000. Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate has declined.
Earlier this week, the December Challenger report revealed that in 2025, US employers announced 1,206,374 job cuts - the highest level since 2020, and the seventh highest annual total since 1989. In the fourth quarter, employers announced plans to cut 259,948, the highest fourth-quarter total since 2008.
New data shows Americans are increasingly anxious about Trump's job market, with workers expecting slower wage growth, a higher risk of unemployment, and a rising likelihood of losing their jobs. At the same time, confidence in being able to find new work has fallen to a record low.
In response,DNC Rapid Response Director Kendall Witmer released the following statement:
"Just eleven months of Donald Trump have thrown the job market into chaos. Jobs cuts are skyrocketing, hiring has slowed, and unemployment is still high - and working families are being squeezed as prices continue to soar. And what is Trump doing about it? He's running a foreign country that taxpayers are forced to bankroll. The message is clear: Trump will always put Americans last."
Job revisions in this month's report were bleak. October payrolls were revised down by 68,000 jobs, from -105,000 to -173,000, while November job growth was revised down by 8,000 jobs, from 64,000 to 56,000.
In addition to manufacturing job losses, the construction industry lost 11,000 jobs and retail trade lost 25,000 jobs this month, while the three-month average of nonfarm payroll growth slipped to negative 22,000 in December.
Democratic Party - Democratic National Committee published this content on January 09, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on January 09, 2026 at 15:24 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]