Prices rose 2.7% in December from a year ago, a sign that inflation continues rising but in line with the pace seen in recent months.

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.

The U.S. government posted a $145 billion budget deficit ‌for December, up 67% or $58 billion from a year earlier due to record outlays that were inflated by calendar shifts in benefit payments and receipts,

The Labor Department released the December jobs report, which showed the U.S. economy added jobs at a modest pace to close out 2025 amid economic uncertainty.

Hiring slowed more than expected in December, a sluggish end to what was one of the weakest years of job growth in decades, a dynamic that further amplified America’s affordability crisis.

US employers added 50,000 jobs in December – a bit weaker than the already-slow monthly average gain of 55,000 in the first 11 months of 2025, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday.

Economists expect the December CPI inflation report to show price growth remained elevated and cautioned it may have a downward bias due to missing data from the government shutdown.

The U.S. economy added just 50,000 jobs in December, capping off the worst year for hiring since 2020, when the Covid pandemic brought the global economy to a standstill. Save for 2020, last year ranks as the poorest year for job creation since 2009 and the global financial crisis.