The unemployment rate — and the headline of the latest jobs report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics — ticked up to 4.6% in November. It’s the highest rate in more than four years and it’s a sign that this labor market just keeps slowing down.

That 4.6%, by the way, is up from an even 4% at the start of the year. And yet, it’s not because people are losing work left and right.

Amanda Augustine is a career coach with Careerminds. She said many of her new clients have been out of work for months now.

“It’s a lot of people who have been unemployed for quite some time who are now saying, well, whatever I've been doing is clearly not working. I need some extra help,” Augustine said.

She said employers aren’t laying off a ton of people. There’s been no spike in first-time unemployment claims. Firms are just reluctant to hire.

“Even the interview process takes a longer time.,” Augustine said.

And so, the share of people seeking jobs keeps climbing. One reason for the uptick in November’s unemployment rate was workforce re-entry, “Meaning that they were people on the sideline rejoining the market again,” said Tuan Nguyen, an economist with RSM.

He said workforce re-entry can be tough to interpret. It could mean people are more confident in their ability to land a job. Or it could mean more people feel they have no choice but to land a job, said Ron Hetrick, an economist with the labor data firm Lightcast.

“These are people who were spouses of people or family members, they didn't need to work. And then the primary person loses their job. So, these people re-enter the labor force,” Hetrick said.

Then there’s the stuff that the headline unemployment rate just doesn’t capture. Hetrick said the number of part-time workers who’d rather be full-time is at the highest level since March of 2021.

“That’s a pretty big deal. That’s a sign of economic stress,” he said.

And it’s one reason the unemployment rate isn’t always the best indicator of what it feels like to be in the labor market, said Sarah Foster, an economic analyst with Bankrate. She said even though 4.6% isn’t sky-high compared to the long-term average, “People who want a job, who are stuck at a position that they don't like, want to change something about their job circumstances. This is not an easy labor market for them.”

She said anxiety is being felt by workers and would-be workers alike.