World game at war: why some European nations have threatened a World Cup boycott 
3 clinical-grade skincare creams you really shouldn’t buy online 
Same sparkle, different story: how lab-grown diamonds are transforming the market 
Ukraine’s drone strikes are having an impact on Russia — but Russian leaders remain committed to war 
‘Vibe coding’ is fun and easy, but there’s a major catch 
Meta-backed research finds exposure to ‘untrustworthy’ social media is rare. The fine print is less reassuring 
Released today, January 9, 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics stated a disappointing +50,000 non-farm payroll jobs gained in December 2025, which represents a steep slowdown from November's revised +56,000. This poor print stresses continuous labor market cooling, driven by past disruptions from the federal government shutdown, currently normalizing, with large downward adjustments to October's numbers totaling -173,000.
While retail trade suffered significant job losses of 25,000 as a result of seasonal changes and more general prudence, job gains were mostly concentrated in resilient sectors such food services, health care (continuing its strong 2025 average of +34,000 monthly), and social assistance (+17,000).
With the unemployment rate stable at 4.5%, average hourly wages increased 0.3% month-over-month (3.8% year-over-year). Likely reducing expectations for strong Federal Reserve rate cuts in 2026, the data signals employer reluctance in the face of President Trump's tariffs, AI-driven changes, and economic uncertainty.
