Unemployment Falls to 4.4 Percent as 50,000 New Job Added

January 9, 2026 – Employment rose by 50,000 in December as the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 4.4 percent, according to the most recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report. Employment continued to trend up in food services and drinking places, healthcare, and social assistance. Retail trade lost jobs. The number of unemployed people, at 7.5 million, changed little in December. Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (3.9 percent), adult women (3.9 percent), teenagers (15.7 percent), Whites (3.8 percent), Blacks (7.5 percent), Asians (3.6 percent), and Hispanics (4.9 percent) showed little or no change over the month.

The number of people jobless less than five weeks edged down to 2.3 million in December. The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) changed little over the month at 1.9 million but is up by 397,000 over the year. The long-term unemployed accounted for 26.0 percent of all unemployed people in December.

The number of people employed part time for economic reasons, at 5.3 million, changed little in December but is up by 980,000 over the year. These individuals would have preferred full-time employment but were working part time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs.

The number of people not in the labor force who currently want a job was little changed at 6.2 million in December but is up by 684,000 over the year. These individuals were not counted as unemployed because they were not actively looking for work during the 4 weeks preceding the survey or were unavailable to take a job.

Among those not in the labor force who wanted a job, the number of people marginally attached to the labor force changed little at 1.8 million in December. These individuals wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months but had not looked for work in the four weeks preceding the survey. The number of discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were available for them, decreased by 183,000 in December to 461,000.

Where Job Growth Occurred

• Employment in food services and drinking places continued to trend up in December (+27,000). Food services and drinking places added an average of 12,000 jobs per month in 2025, similar to the average increase of 11,000 jobs per month in 2024.
• Healthcare employment continued its upward trend in December (+21,000), with a gain of 16,000 jobs in hospitals. Healthcare employment rose by an average of 34,000 per month in 2025, less than the average monthly gain of 56,000 in 2024.
• In December, employment in social assistance continued to trend up (+17,000), mostly in individual and family services (+13,000).
• Retail trade lost 25,000 jobs in December. Over the month, employment declined in warehouse clubs, supercenters, and other general merchandise retailers (-19,000) and in food and beverage retailers (-9,000). Electronics and appliance retailers added 5,000 jobs. Retail trade employment showed little net change in both 2024 and 2025.
• Federal government employment was little changed in December (+2,000). Since reaching a peak in January, federal government employment is down by 277,000, or 9.2 percent. (Employees on paid leave or receiving ongoing severance pay are counted as employed in the establishment survey.)
• Employment showed little or no change over the month in other major industries, including mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; construction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; transportation and warehousing; information; financial activities; professional and business services; and other services.

Executive Search Expert Weights In

James Abruzzo is managing partner of JGA Partners, which provides search and services for the executive search industry and corporate talent acquisition function. The firm’s clients include the executive search firms, international executive recruitment membership federations and associations, and leadership advisory and management consulting firms.

Mr. Abruzzo is a career international executive recruitment and talent acquisition professional with expertise across all aspects of the executive search industry and talent function. He has worked with executive search and recruitment professionals from each of the world’s top 10 executive search firms, regional recruitment professionals, independent entrepreneurs and franchise owners. Mr. Abruzzo sat down with Hunt Scanlon Media to share his view on the job market and where it is heading in 2026!

James, what are you hearing from boards and CEOs right now about economic confidence, and how is that translating into hiring decisions for 2026?

2026 will feel the different. 2025 was the year leadership teams talked themselves into freezing, often convincing themselves that doing nothing was the safest move available. Unless a role was truly mission critical, risk tolerance disappeared almost entirely. Hiring for potential quietly died, and skill based hiring turned into a rigid checklist where being strong was no longer good enough. It had to be perfect. Boards spent an extraordinary amount of time designing and refining process instead of making decisions. Interview cycles stretched out, reference checks became extreme, and speed was replaced with caution. The unspoken goal shifted from finding the right leader to avoiding the embarrassment of being wrong. That approach only works when talent feels endless and no one wants to move first. That is no longer the world we are in. Ironically, the behavior meant to reduce risk is now creating a bigger one. When the market tightens even slightly, companies that cannot move with conviction will lose the very candidates they want. The next phase is not smarter hiring. 2026 will be about faster hiring, paired with a willingness to take real risks and live with the occasional mistake. Whether boards feel ready for that shift or not, the market will force the issue.

Which sectors or functions are showing the strongest demand for senior talent, and which are pulling back, and what does that reveal about where the economy is headed?

Private equity remains the most consistent buyer of retained search, and that is unlikely to change anytime soon. Executive hiring is a narrow slice of the labor market, so it is not a clean read on the overall economy. Still, the patterns inside that slice are revealing. Demand is strongest for leaders tied directly to execution and cash flow. Revenue focused commercial leaders, go to market operators, and finance executives who know how to manage downside are in far higher demand than visionary storytellers. Companies are buying control right now, not long range narratives. AI has moved from a buzzword to a baseline expectation, especially at the senior level. Leaders are now expected to understand how to deploy it, govern it, and extract real value from it regardless of industry. The next wave will favor executives who know where AI actually works, where it fails, and which humans you can and cannot replace. Pressure is already building in rank and file risk, legal, and compliance functions. Senior leadership still matters, but middle and lower layers are shrinking as AI replaces volume and lower level work. Large firms are beginning to show their hand by deciding which work no longer needs humans, and many others will follow.  Recent announcements from firms like Morgan Stanley and Meta cutting hundreds of thousands in this field are early signals. They are among the first to decide that the function no longer requires human beings. There will certainly be plenty of followers.

“Senior leadership still matters, but middle and lower layers are shrinking as AI replaces volume and lower level work.”

How are compensation expectations changing at the executive level as inflation, interest rates, and market volatility continue to influence budgets and risk appetite?

There is a belief that companies still hold leverage, and in many cases that is true. But that leverage collapses quickly at the very top of the talent curve. Executives who genuinely check every box understand their value and are not pricing themselves like interchangeable parts. What has changed most is how leaders think about risk. Compensation still matters, but confidence in the business matters more. Executives are looking at leadership credibility, balance sheets, and whether goals are realistic or not. Many are willing to accept slightly less pay if they believe the plan is real.

Looking six to 12 months out, what are the biggest economic indicators you are watching through the lens of executive recruiting, and what signals tell you hiring is about to accelerate or slow?

Uncertainty defined 2024 and 2025, shaped by real world conflict and instability. The war in Ukraine continues to grind on. Conflict in the Middle East remains unresolved and governments are capturing foreign leaders out of their homes. Not to mention tariff threats continue to persist. Layer on top of that the very likely and increasingly inevitable conflict in Asia, and it becomes clear this is no longer background noise but just the reality in which we all must live and profit in. Leaders are no longer waiting for things to settle down. It’s just not happening. They are starting to accept that this level of instability is what normal looks like now, and that stability is not coming anytime soon. After two years of delayed decisions, pressure has built up inside organizations. When boards finally decide that waiting is riskier than acting, hiring does not ease back in gradually. It comes back all at once. The next hiring surge will not be subtle. It will be driven by the exasperation of waiting. Once leadership teams accept that uncertainty is permanent, the floodgates open, and hiring accelerates quickly, favoring companies that can move decisively while others are still debating process.

Related: What are Boards Doing Differently for Better Executive Appointments in 2026?

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor  – Hunt Scanlon Media