The biggest concern for the Federal Reserve (Fed) today is the weakness in employment over the last year, and especially during the second half of the year. This weakness was behind its decision to resume interest rate cuts in September of 2025. Although the weakness in job growth was evident in the goods-producing sector of the economy for a long time, the weakness in employment in the services side of the economy became apparent during the second half of the year, as can be seen in the graph below. However, there have been recent signs that employment in the services side of the economy is starting to improve. The ... (full story)