Scott Horsley

That's up from 4.4 percent in September and the highest jobless rate since the fall of 2021.

Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.

U.S.

employers added just 64,000 jobs in November as the unemployment rate climbed to 4.6 percent.

The economy recorded a net loss of jobs in October.

as tens of thousands of federal workers who took buyouts earlier in the year were officially dropped from government payrolls.

Job tallies for both October and November were delayed by the six-week government shutdown.

Health care and construction saw job gains in November, while factories and delivery companies cut jobs.

The softening job market means employers are not having to raise wages as fast as they were.

Average wages in November were up 3.5 percent from a year ago.

Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.

Timely reports on inflation and the job market were disrupted this fall by the six-week government shutdown.

But some of that information will come dribbling out this week.

The Labor Department reports tomorrow on job gains for October and November.

We'll also get a look at November's inflation rate on Thursday.

Some of the missing data will not be made up, though.

Furloughed federal workers were unable to conduct price checks or tally the unemployment rate for October.

So for the first time, there will be gaps in those long-running series.

The maker of Roomba, the self-driving vacuum cleaner, is filing for bankruptcy.

The company called iRobot will be sucked up by its main contract manufacturer.