Inflation in the U.S. cooled while the rate of unemployed Americans rose to its highest level in four years last month, keeping the world’s largest economy in focus amid conflicting signals. The U.S. economy added 64,000 jobs in November but lost 105,000 jobs in October, pushing up the unemployment rate to 4.6%, the Labor Department said on Tuesday. In September—when survey data was last made available due to the government shutdown—the unemployment rate was 4.4%. The agency’s inflation report on Thursday showed that consumer prices last month were up 2.7% year-over-year, or 2.6% on a core basis. Both figures were down from 3% in September, although the Labor Department noted that it was unable to retroactively collect some data in its latest survey.

A weaker jobs market could support the case for further easing by the Federal Reserve in 2026, even as officials contend with divergent indicators that include above-target inflation and resilient GDP growth. The U.S. economy was on track to post 3.5% growth in the third quarter, based on the Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow model. Meanwhile, Fed Chair Jay Powell cautioned last week that federal data could be overstating jobs growth, adding that officials are mindful that household surveys for October and November may be distorted.

Amid an evolving global investment landscape, Ray Dalio joined PGIM’s George Patterson for a conversation about anticipating the onset of big market cycles and constructing balanced portfolios for new regimes.