US Unemployment Rate Climbs to 4.6% as Economy Adds 64,000 Jobs in November
Job growth sputters while unemployment ticks up—traditional metrics flash a warning sign the old guard might miss.
The Numbers Tell a Story
The headline figures are a mixed bag. The economy added 64,000 new positions last month, a pace that fails to keep up with population growth. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate climbed to 4.6%, marking a clear shift from the recent tight labor market. It's the kind of data that sends bond yields twitching and has Wall Street analysts furiously revising their quarterly forecasts—a ritual as predictable as it is often wrong.
Beyond the Headline Noise
Dig beneath the surface, and the narrative gets more interesting. Slowing job creation coupled with rising unemployment often signals a cooling economy. For decades, this script meant one thing: a flight to safety, with capital rushing into Treasury bonds and out of 'riskier' assets. But that playbook is gathering dust. In today's digital-first world, capital flows aren't so monolithic. Savvy money now has more exits—and more potential havens—than ever before.
The New Safe Haven?
While traditional finance frets over basis points and Fed whispers, a parallel economy is building. One that operates 24/7, bypasses legacy banking rails, and offers asset classes completely decoupled from the payroll reports of a single nation-state. When conventional indicators wobble, it doesn't just mean bonds—it can mean heightened search for alternative stores of value and yield. The tools for that search are now mainstream.
The old guards will parse every decimal point in this report, trying to time the market's next mood swing. Meanwhile, a generation weaned on volatility is already looking elsewhere—building, trading, and allocating in an ecosystem that never sleeps. Funny how the most 'stable' investments sometimes feel the most precarious.
Track household changes across labor groups
The BLS’s household survey showed 7.8 million unemployed people in November, slightly above September and noticeably higher than the 7.1 million recorded last year, according to the report.
The jobless rate for teenagers hit 16.3%, moving higher since September. Adult men and women held a 4.1% rate, while Whites came in at 3.9%, Blacks at 8.3%, Asians at 3.6%, and Hispanics at 5.0%. No big moves in these categories.
Short-term joblessness rose. The number of people unemployed for less than five weeks reached 2.5 million, which is 316,000 more than in September. Long-term unemployment sat at 1.9 million, making up 24.3% of all jobless people.
The labor force participation rate stayed at 62.5%, with the employment-population ratio stuck at 59.6%. Both measures barely budged over the year.
Part-time workers who wanted full-time jobs jumped to 5.5 million, an increase of 909,000 from September. These workers faced reduced hours or could not secure full-time roles.
Another 6.1 million people wanted a job but were not counted as unemployed because they were not looking in the past four weeks. Within this group, 1.8 million were marginally attached to the labor force, and 651,000 were discouraged workers.
US federal employment fell 6,000 in November after a brutal 162,000 drop in October tied to workers who accepted deferred resignations earlier in the year. Since January, federal payrolls are down 271,000.
The BLS clarified, “Federal employees on furlough during the shutdown were counted as employed because they received pay for the pay period that included the 12th of the month.”
Other major industries showed little change, including mining, manufacturing, retail, information, financial activities, professional services, leisure and hospitality, and other services.
BLS revised August payrolls down 22,000, taking the total to -26,000, and revised September down 11,000 to 108,000, leaving both months combined 33,000 lower than first reported. With October missing due to the shutdown, there were no revisions for that month.
White House advances Fed chair decision process
Meanwhile, as this report makes the Federal Reserve’s job harder yet again, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said TRUMP plans to pick a new chair by January 1.
“It’s at the president’s pace,” he said, adding that Trump has been “very, very deliberate” and “very direct with the candidates” about their views on Fed policy, Fed structure, and the economy. Scott said National Economic Director Kevin Hassett and former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh remain top contenders. He pushed back on “this idea that Kevin Hassett should be disqualified,” saying past economic aides have served at the Fed, including Janet Yellen.
Scott said Trump even asked in one interview why the Fed “needed hundreds of Ph.D. economists.” He also projected $100 billion to $150 billion in tax refunds next quarter, saying that WOULD boost growth. He expects GDP to end the year up 3.5%.
On China, Scott said Beijing has “done everything we negotiated” under the trade truce but must raise domestic demand. “The world cannot have a China that has a trillion dollar trade surplus,” he said.
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