LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jared Verse came as advertised in his debut season for the Los Angeles Rams, offering explosive pass rush prowess en route to AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.
After totaling 77 pressures, 11 tackles for loss and 4 1/2 sacks last season, the outside linebacker isn’t worried about a sophomore slump.
“I don’t really feel too much pressure,” Verse said Tuesday after practice during organized team activities. "If I’m who I am, if I take the strides needed to take, I’m going to be the best version of me, and I’m going to be able to help the team in any facet or way that they need."
Verse already has one year of dealing with immense expectations under his belt. Drafted 19th overall in 2024, the Florida State product had to handle the belief he would help the Rams to navigate the retirement of eight-time All-Pro defensive lineman Aaron Donald.
The pass rush was able to do just that, but Verse said it came from a collective effort rather than his or any other individual performance. Verse, fellow Seminole rookie Braden Fiske and second-year standouts Kobie Turner and Byron Young combined for 28 1/2 sacks and 43 tackles for loss in the regular season.
It took time for Verse and Fiske to recognize fully integrating into the defense required more than working off one another the way they had in college.
“I think we did good, but I think we became more so focused on helping the team than trying to do our own thing and have a good little duo going on,” Verse said. “But I think we kind of have learned the opportunities that we have to work together.”
Combined with Verse’s improved understanding of how quickly the game moves in the NFL as the season went on, he closed out the campaign with a fumble return for a touchdown in an NFC wild-card round win over the Minnesota Vikings and two sacks and three tackles for loss in a six-point divisional round loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
“The number one thing you hear is how much faster the game is at this level versus college,” Verse said. “Everybody’s always like, ‘Oh, it’s not.’ The hell it is, man. You’re thrown in that fire, nah, it’s a lot faster. Yeah, it was surprising, but once I got the hang of it, it became just like college, it became just like high school, slowed down a lot more.”
Verse already feels well ahead of where he was at this time last year. He was determined to make the most of a full offseason without having to prepare for the draft or handle the uncertainty that comes with going through everything for the first time.
That included a full review of all of Verse’s game film from last season. The study allowed him to see how many chances he missed out on as a rookie.
“Probably the biggest thing I realized was how many sacks, not even just sacks, but big plays I missed out on,” he said. “You know, dropping in coverage I could have done this, or rushing the passer could have done that. Even in the run game a couple times, there’s a couple things where I’m a little too far inside, a little too far outside, and I could have made a big impact play. So realizing that this really is a game of inches, whether it’s just like stopping the ball or actually just doing your job, there’s a couple things I could have done better.”
All those steps, along with continued development from his work with outside linebackers coach Joe Coniglio and defensive line coach Giff Smith, were evident to defensive coordinator Chris Shula in Verse’s work during practice.
“You can tell he’s really taken the techniques that Joe and Giff are really teaching him and applying them on the field,” Shula said. “And I think things have slowed down for him a little bit, and he’s playing really fast right now.”
Verse has one more week of work in Southern California before the Rams hold their mandatory minicamp in Maui. The loquacious Verse is looking forward to a return visit after vacationing there for first time earlier this year, but don’t expect to see him wading out in the Pacific Ocean during his free time.
“I don’t know what's out in that water,” Verse said. “I’m good.”
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FILE - Los Angeles Rams linebacker Jared Verse (8) looks on during warm-ups prior to the NFL divisional playoff football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola, File)
FILE - Los Angeles Rams linebacker Jared Verse (8) reacts during the NFL divisional playoff football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sluggish December hiring concluded a year of weak employment gains that have frustrated job seekers even though layoffs and unemployment have remained low.
Employers added just 50,000 jobs last month, nearly unchanged from a downwardly revised figure of 56,000 in November, the Labor Department said Friday. The unemployment rate slipped to 4.4%, its first decline since June, from 4.5% in November, a figure also revised lower.
The data suggests that businesses are reluctant to add workers even as economic growth has picked up. Many companies hired aggressively after the pandemic and no longer need to fill more jobs. Others have held back due to widespread uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump’s shifting tariff policies, elevated inflation, and the spread of artificial intelligence, which could alter or even replace some jobs.
Still, economists were encouraged by the drop in the unemployment rate, which had risen in the previous four straight reports. It had also alarmed officials at the Federal Reserve, prompting three cuts to the central bank's key interest rate last year. The decline lowered the odds of another rate reduction in January, economists said.
“The labor market looks to have stabilized, but at a slower pace of employment growth,” Blerina Uruci, chief economist at T. Rowe Price, said. There is no urgency for the Fed to cut rates further, for now."
Some Federal Reserve officials are concerned that inflation remains above their target of 2% annual growth, and hasn't improved since 2024. They support keeping rates where they are to combat inflation. Others, however, are more worried that hiring has nearly ground to a halt and have supported lowering borrowing costs to spur spending and growth.
November's job gain was revised slightly lower, from 64,000 to 56,000, while October's now shows a much steeper drop, with a loss of 173,000 positions, down from previous estimates of a 105,000 decline. The government revises the jobs figures as it receives more survey responses from businesses.
The economy has now lost an average of 22,000 jobs a month in the past three months, the government said. A year ago, in December 2024, it had gained 209,000 a month. Most of those losses reflect the purge of government workers by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.
Nearly all the jobs added in December were in the health care and restaurant and hotel industries. Health care added 38,500 jobs, while restaurants and hotels gained 47,000. Governments — mostly at the state and local level — added 13,000.
Manufacturing, construction and retail companies all shed jobs. Retailers cut 25,000 positions, a sign that holiday hiring has been weaker than previous years. Manufacturers have shed jobs every month since April, when Trump announced sweeping tariffs intended to boost manufacturing.
Wall Street and Washington are looking closely at Friday's report as it's the first clean reading on the labor market in three months. The government didn’t issue a report in October because of the six-week government shutdown, and November’s data was distorted by the closure, which lasted until Nov. 12.
The hiring slowdown reflects more than just a reluctance by companies to add jobs. With an aging population and a sharp drop in immigration, the economy doesn't need to create as many jobs as it has in the past to keep the unemployment rate steady. As a result, a gain of 50,000 jobs is not as clear a sign of weakness as it would have been in previous years.
And layoffs are still low, a sign firms aren't rapidly cutting jobs, as typically happens in a recession. The “low-hire, low-fire” job market does mean current workers have some job security, though those without jobs can have a tougher time.
Ernesto Castro, 44, has applied for hundreds of jobs since leaving his last in May. Yet the Los Angeles resident has gotten just three initial interviews, and only one follow-up, after which he heard nothing.
With nearly a decade of experience providing customer support for software companies, Castro expected to find a new job pretty quickly as he did in 2024.
“I should be in a good position,” Castro said. “It’s been awful.”
He worries that more companies are turning to artificial intelligence to help clients learn to use new software. He hears ads from tech companies that urge companies to slash workers that provide the kind of services he has in his previous jobs. His contacts in the industry say that employees are increasingly reluctant to switch jobs amid all the uncertainty, which leaves fewer open jobs for others.
He is now looking into starting his own software company, and is also exploring project management roles.
December’s report caps a year of sluggish hiring, particularly after April's “liberation day” tariff announcement by Trump. The economy generated an average of 111,000 jobs a month in the first three months of 2025. But that pace dropped to just 11,000 in the three months ended in August, before rebounding slightly to 22,000 in November.
Last year, the economy gained just 584,000 jobs, sharply lower than that more than 2 million added in 2024. It's the smallest annual gain since the COVID-19 pandemic decimated the job market in 2020.
Subdued hiring underscores a key conundrum surrounding the economy as it enters 2026: Growth has picked up to healthy levels, yet hiring has weakened noticeably and the unemployment rate has increased in the last four jobs reports.
Most economists expect hiring will accelerate this year as growth remains solid, and Trump's tax cut legislation is expected to produce large tax refunds this spring. Yet economists acknowledge there are other possibilities: Weak job gains could drag down future growth. Or the economy could keep expanding at a healthy clip, while automation and the spread of artificial intelligence reduces the need for more jobs.
Productivity, or output per hour worked, a measure of worker efficiency, has improved in the past three years and jumped nearly 5% in the July-September quarter. That means companies can produce more without adding jobs. Over time, it should also boost worker pay.
Even with such sluggish job gains, the economy has continued to expand, with growth reaching a 4.3% annual rate in last year's July-September quarter, the best in two years. Strong consumer spending helped drive the gain. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta forecasts that growth could slow to a still-solid 2.7% in the final three months of last year.
FILE - A hiring sign is displayed at a grocery store in Northbrook, Ill., Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
