The unemployment rate in the United States has risen to 4.6%, reaching its highest level since 2021

Official data released on Tuesday (December 16th) showed that the unemployment rate in the United States rose again in November, hovering at its highest level in four years.

AFP reported that data from the US Department of Labor showed that 64,000 new jobs were added in November, but the growth rate was still lower than the previous level.

The Labor Department said, "Employment in the healthcare and construction sectors increased in November, while federal government jobs continued to decline."

The report indicates that in October, the number of jobs in government departments decreased significantly by 162,000.

In November, the unemployment rate in the United States climbed to 4.6%.

As the employment situation deteriorates, the US Federal Reserve has cut interest rates three times in a row this year, but has hinted that the threshold for further rate cuts in the future may be even higher.

Senate Banking Committee Chief Democratic Senator Warren criticized US President Trump's "chaotic tariff policies and failed economic policies", saying that these policies "are severely damaging the labor market and harming the interests of workers".

Heather Lang, chief economist of the Naval Federal Credit Union, said, "The U.S. economy is in a period of employment recession." In the past six months, only 100,000 new jobs were created across the country.

She said that most of these new positions were concentrated in the healthcare industry, which has been recruiting almost constantly as the US population ages.

Almost all other industries are currently at a standstill or laying off staff. The enterprise is adjusting to deal with factors such as tariffs, uncertainties and artificial intelligence, and therefore has no intention of recruiting.

Another sign of economic cooling is that another report released by the US Department of Commerce on Tuesday showed that retail sales remained flat at 732.6 billion US dollars in October. This is mainly due to the decline in sales of auto and auto parts dealers and gas stations.

Consumer spending at restaurants and bars also declined, with sales dropping by 0.4% from September to October.