The US unemployment rate climbed to 4.6% in November from 4.4% in September. The US economy lost 105,000 jobs in October but gained 64,000 in November.

The data is the latest sign of a weakening job market.

About 25 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat at 48,407.44.

The broad-based S&P 500 was also unchanged at 6,815.34, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index edged up 0.2% to 23,093.20.

While the job figures were lackluster, they probably aren’t bad enough to prompt the US Federal Reserve to cut interest rates in January, said Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers.

“The problem with these numbers to some extent is that they are not good, but not bad enough to get the Fed to move particularly quickly,” Sosnick said.

Among individual companies, Ford rose 1.7% despite announcing a US$19.5 billion write down over several years as it cancels some electric vehicle projects and pivots toward hybrids, gas-powered trucks and a new battery storage business.

“There is a lot to digest,” UBS analysts said of Ford. “Net, we see this as a bold action and write down that likely removes years of future losses.”

Pfizer dropped 3.2% as it released 2026 revenue forecasts that showed further erosion of Covid-19 related products and the loss of exclusivity in some pharmaceuticals.