Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 223,000 in December, and the unemployment rate edged down to 3.5 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Notable job gains occurred in leisure and hospitality, health care, construction, and social assistance. This news release presents statistics from two monthly surveys. The household survey measures labor force status, including unemployment, by demographic characteristics. The establishment survey measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry. For more information about the concepts and statistical methodology used in these two ... (full story)

The US jobs market ended 2022 on a high note, adding another 223,000 jobs in December, the department of labor reported on Friday. The unemployment rate dipped to 3.5%. The continued strength of the jobs market comes as the Federal Reserve has struggled to cool hiring and bring down inflation by raising interest rates at a pace unseen in a generation. The government jobs report comes a day after ADP, the US’s largest payroll supplier, announced private employers had added 235,000 for the month, well ahead of the 153,000 Dow Jones estimate and the 127,000 initially reported for November. The Fed has been raising rates ... (full story)