December Jobs Add 50,000 as Unemployment Ticks Down (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: All right, breaking just a few minutes ago, brand new data on jobs. The economy added just 50,000 jobs in December. You can see that right there. And jobs growth was revised lower in both October and November. You can see what a bad month October was right there. 2025, now the weakest year of jobs growth since the pandemic. Now on the other hand, the unemployment rate dipped to 4.4% in December. A lot more on this coming up. These jobs numbers painting an interesting picture of the economy. People dig into it right now.

[00:00:37] Speaker 2: The final jobs report for 2025 shows the economy added just 50,000 jobs in December. CNN senior reporter Matt Egan joining us now. Is this what folks were expecting here? Because this is a lot lower than what we have been seeing, I think, even in November.

[00:00:53] Speaker 3: Yeah, Sarah, look, this is a mixed end to what was a pretty weak year for the job market. I think the good news here is the unemployment rate. It did unexpectedly fall more than the consensus. So the new unemployment rate is 4.4% for December. That is lower than the 4.5% that was the forecast. And we also learned that November had been revised lower. So it was originally reported as 4.6. And now that month was revised lower. So the worst news, though, is the job growth. The U.S. economy added 50,000 jobs in December. That's just a touch below the consensus. But there were some whisper numbers and some hopes for bigger numbers there. And we also got some more negative revisions, which continues a pattern that we've seen. So November, you can see it was positive, but it was revised actually a little bit lower. And look how negative October is. So October was revised sharply lower by 68,000. It went from negative 105,000 to negative 173,000. That's the worst month for the job market since late 2020 during COVID-19. Wow. Yeah. And we just got these numbers still to dig into some of the sectors here and exactly why the unemployment rate went down. But one thing I do want to just emphasize is how weak this was overall for the job market. We're talking about the worst year of job gains for the U.S. economy since 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. And if you exclude recessions, this was the worst year for job growth for the U.S. economy since 2003. Right. And this happened for a whole lot of reasons. There was a lot of uncertainty over tariffs. There were all of the significant cuts by the federal government and DOJ when it comes to federal employment. There's artificial intelligence as well. So there's a lot of different things going on. But it is, of course, it was disappointing to see how bad of a year it was for job growth. But again, thankfully, the unemployment rate has ticked down.

[00:02:54] Speaker 2: Yeah, it's sometimes hard to hold these numbers, you know, right next to each other. But when you look at the job growth and just then it being revised down, and especially in October, that number is stunning. It doesn't explain exactly why people are saying I'm having a hard time finding work. It is so hard out there. It is so miserable trying to get a new job or if they've been laid off to try, you know, and get another job.

[00:03:19] Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely. So, I mean, look, we are still in this low fire job market, right, which is good. Of course, we have not seen layoffs skyrocket. But the problem is that it's also a low hire job market. If you are out of work, it's pretty hard to get another job that's going to pay the bills. And if you just graduated from college, it's a really difficult job market for young people as well. So that does get to some of these frustrations that we talk about on the affordability front. It's not just prices. It's how much money people are making and their ability to get a good job.

[00:03:49] Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a really good point. We have, though, this year been seeing almost the opposite in the stock market, where people are watching this thing boom. Do you expect this to have an impact? This is futures, so this is before. But that was at, what, 830 just a few minutes ago. We got this jobs report. Right now, things are looking up.

[00:04:09] Speaker 3: Yeah, U.S. stock futures, not a massive reaction, but slightly positive here. Markets are not overly concerned about the economy. I think there were a lot of fears about the job market over the summer, right, when we saw a lot of negative job numbers. Some of those concerns, I think, have eased. And in fact, investors are happy that right now the Federal Reserve is providing more help to try to shore up the job market by cutting interest rates. And I think that today's numbers are not really going to shift the thinking on Wall Street when it comes to the Fed, where there is still an expectation that later this year the Fed is going to continue to cut interest rates.

[00:04:43] Speaker 2: It is good to have you here, Matt Egan, to explain it all as it's happening. Yep, just got the jobs report for you this morning. Appreciate it. Thank you, John.

[00:04:51] Speaker 1: All right, with us now is Congressman Mike Lawler, a Republican from New York. Congressman, great to see you and hopefully hear you, as always. Let me just get your reaction to this jobs report that we just got here. 50,000 jobs added in December, making 2025 the worst year for jobs creation since 2020 and the worst year outside of recession since 2003. Why do you think that was?

[00:05:17] Speaker 4: Well, number one, obviously, we had four years of stagnant economic growth. We had record inflation. We had a high cost of living. And over the course of this past year, we've spent a lot of time fixing the economy and reversing the policies. We provided the single largest tax cut in American history. When people go to file this April, they will see a massive tax cut. New Yorkers, for instance, are going to see, on average, a $4,000 tax cut. That is going to help spur economic growth. We saw over 4.3% GDP growth at the last check. Obviously, we want to see jobs created. We want to see the economy continue to grow. As you just pointed out, the stock market has been hitting record highs. So there are a lot of positive indicators. There's still some work to do. And that's why I've been focused heavily on the cost of living. That's why yesterday, I helped lead the effort to get the ACA extension across the finish line in the House. Now it goes to the Senate. We want to address the issues of affordability on health care, on housing, on energy. Energy prices are coming down. Gasoline below $3 for the first time in five years. So there's a lot of positive indicators. There's still more work to do. Obviously, job creation is critical. But as you pointed out, the unemployment rate is holding steady, which is positive. So there's a lot more work ahead. And that's what my focus is.

[00:06:49] Speaker 1: You were very critical of the last four years. Point of fact, job creation was higher, in some cases much higher, each of those years, Congressman. Isn't that correct?

[00:06:59] Speaker 4: Well, coming out of a pandemic, sure. You have to remember, we had a lot of job losses in large measure because the federal government and state governments were forcing businesses to close and laying people off and increase the amount of federal spending to support people who were unemployed. And so, of course, as the economy reopens, you're going to see a surge in job creation. But the fact is, the cost of living exploded as a result of all that federal spending that the Biden administration engaged in. And you saw record inflation. You saw the average mortgage cost, for instance, go up $1,000 a month. We're bringing that down. Interest rates are coming down. So again, this has been a very difficult five years. We are getting through it and on to the other side. And I think what you're going to see in 2026 is an economy that is booming and jobs being created, wealth being created, and obviously more money being put back in the pockets of Americans. And that's what they want.

[00:08:03] Speaker 1: Inflation was much higher than we've seen in a long time. It absolutely was not a record, as you well know.