Hiring data for October and November show the nation’s labor market continues to sputter, raising concerns that the employment outlook may be weaker than it seems.

BY BRUCE CRUMLEY @BRUCEC_INC

A “Now Hiring” sign at the Appalachian State University internship and job fair in Boone, North Carolina. Photo: Getty Images

People have long found ways to draw different conclusions from the same set of statistics — diverging interpretations that are even more common in these divided times. But it’s becoming increasingly difficult to read recent employment data without inferring that they reflect an apparently stalling labor market that has sent the the unemployment rate to 4.6 percent — the highest since September 2021.

Economists say that fear is based on indications that despite signs of expanding economic growth, the weakening employment outlook is getting worse. Those concerns rose this week when the latest government data showed employers added only 64,000 new jobs in November. That was less than a third of the average 186,000 monthly hiring rate in 2024, and followed anemic recruitment activity since May. It also came on the heels of a 105,000 headcount decline in October.

Those numbers reflected businesses remaining........

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