The US economy added 223,000 jobs in December, compared with estimates of 200,000. The job growth marked a small decrease from the 256,000 gain in November.
The employment growth was supported by a rise in the number of hospitality, entertainment, healthcare and construction jobs.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate unexpectedly declined to 3.5% in December, compared with 3.6% in November.
This came despite the efforts of the Federal Reserve to boost the economy and labor market. The US central bank raised the interest rates seven times to 4.25% in 2022.
|
Monthly US Job Data |
||||
|
Forecasts |
Previous |
Current |
Change |
|
|
Number of Jobs ('000) |
+200.0 |
+256.0 |
+223.0 |
(33) |
|
Unemployment Rate (%) |
3.6 |
3.6 |
3.5 |
(0.1%) |
|
Average Wage Per Hour ($) |
-- |
32.73 |
32.82 |
0.09 |
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