The total nonfarm payroll employment in the United States increased by 216,000 in December, surpassing estimates, though the unemployment rate remained steady at 3.7 percent.
Because of the holiday season, December’s numbers are not easy to calculate and experts reacted to the jobs report with this caveat in mind.
The major employment-adding sectors were government employment (52,000), leisure and hospitality (40,000), health care (38,000), employment in social assistance (21,000) and construction employment (17,000).
Employment fell in transportation and warehousing (23,000) and in temporary-help services (33,000).
Average hourly earnings in December for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 0.4 percent, or 15 cents, to $34.27. The average hourly earnings have increased by 4.1 percent during the past 12 months.
October’s job numbers were revised down by 45,000, from +150,000 to +105,000, while November’s numbers were revised down