Another year, another discouraging job market in Massachusetts.

Local employers added just 1,300 jobs in 2025 even after a modest pick-up in hiring in the final three months of the year, according to US Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Friday by the Healey administration.

The unemployment rate stood at 4.8 percent in December, up from 4.1 percent a year earlier, as an expanding number of job seekers struggled to find work.

The state’s job engine has sputtered over the past two years, with employers shedding 4,500 jobs and unemployment climbing from 3.5 percent. While hiring is slowing across the country, Massachusetts is in worse shape than many states. The national jobless rate was 4.4 percent last month.

In a statement, Mark Rembert, chief economist at the state’s Department of Economic Research, called the labor market “stable but slow-moving.” Digging deeper into the data raises the question: Just how stable?

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More than 29,600 people entered the job market last year, an increase of 4.7 percent that placed Massachusetts among the top 10 states in labor force growth. That’s good news, showing the supply of labor is growing despite the state’s aging population, tight federal immigration restrictions, and the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign.

But the ranks of the employed rose by just 2,800. The number of people counted as unemployed but searching for work increased by nearly 27,000.

Those numbers underscore weak demand for labor — the “low-hire, low-fire” mode adopted by many employers despite continued economic growth. Executives cite concerns about tariffs and the impact of AI on their hiring needs as reasons for the falloff in hiring.

The state’s mainstay job generators are stuck in neutral. Education and health services providers added a mere 400 jobs last year, while financial services firms tacked on 200.

Meanwhile, leisure and hospitality employers cut 1,200 jobs, and the professional and business services sector lost 2,700 jobs.

Construction was a bright spot, with 1,800 jobs added in 2025. And trade, transportation, and utilities added 1,300 jobs.

All the numbers add up to this: The supply of workers outpaced demand from employers last year. The outlook for 2026 is for more of the same.

Larry Edelman can be reached at larry.edelman@globe.com.