The federal government is set to release an unusual jobs report on Tuesday, combining data from two consecutive months due to disruption caused by the 43-day government shutdown.
The weeks-delayed report will offer the latest snapshot of the U.S. economy in an uneasy period bedeviled by a hiring slowdown and an uptick of inflation.
A jobs report for September – the most recent month for which data is available – sent mixed signals about the labor market. Employers added far more workers than expected in September, though hiring fell short of a breakneck clip. Meanwhile the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.4%, a low figure by historical standards but the highest recorded since October 2021.
Economists expect employers to have hired 50,000 jobs in November, which would mark a significant decline from 119,000 jobs added in September. The unemployment rate is expected to climb slightly to 4.5%.
The government is set to release only partial data for October because the government shutdown impaired data collection, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said.
The jobs report involves a survey of households meant to gather data on a sample of the overall population, as well as a survey of businesses and government agencies that aims to assess pay and hiring activity among employers. Agency officials did not collect the household survey data for October, the BLS said, meaning the government will only release information garnered from businesses.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks as he holds a press conference following a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee at the Federal Reserve in Washington, December 10, 2025.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
The BLS extended the period for collection and processing of the November data, which helps explain why the report is being issued on a Tuesday in the middle of the month, rather than its customary release on the month’s first Friday.
The fresh jobs data is set to arrive less than a week after the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate a quarter of a percentage point in an effort to boost the sluggish labor market. The move amounted to the third rate cut this year, bringing the Fed’s benchmark rate to a level between 3.5% and 3.75%.
Interest rates have dropped significantly from a recent peak attained in 2023, but borrowing costs remain well above a 0% rate established at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking at a press conference in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell touted the rate cut as an effort to improve the labor market, but he suggested the central bank may be cautious about further rate reductions.
“We’re well-positioned to wait and see how the economy evolves,” Powell said.
The Fed is stuck in a bind, since the central bank must balance a dual mandate to keep inflation under control and maximize employment. To address pressure on both of its goals, the Fed primarily holds a single tool: interest rates.
The pressure on both sides of the Fed’s dual mandate presents a “challenging situation” for the central bank, Powell said.
“There’s no risk-free path for policy as we navigate this tension between our employment and inflation goals,” Powell added.
