U.S. Added Just 50,000 Jobs In December, Entertainment Industry Employment Falls

Employers added just 50,000 jobs in December, affirming an end-of-the-year hiring slowdown even as the economy has shown significant growth.

Jobs in movies and music fell by 2,100 to 394,300, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics figures. Jobs among broadcast and content providers dropped slightly, about 100 positions to 334,000.

The unemployment rate fell slightly, to 4.4%. The job gains were primarily in food services and drinking places, health care and social assistance. The retail trade lost 25,000 jobs in December.

“The U.S. is experiencing a jobless boom,” Heather Long, chief economist for Navy Federal, wrote on X. “Growth is strong, but there is a ‘hiring recession’ with almost no hiring outside of healthcare and hospitality.” She said that 2025 was the “worst year for hiring outside of a recession since 2003,” with almost no hiring since April.

The gross domestic product grew at a 4.3% annualized rate in the third quarter, a figure that greatly exceeded expectations.

The BLS also revised figures downward from previous months, to a loss of 173,000 jobs in October and a gain of 56,000 in November. In December, average hourly earnings rose by 12 cents, or 0.3%, to $37.02. The average hourly earnings have increased by 3.8% over the past 12 months.