Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 216,000 in December, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment continued to trend up in government, health care, social assistance, and construction, while transportation and warehousing lost jobs. 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 ... (full story)

The U.S. added 216,000 jobs and the unemployment rate held steady at 3.7 percent in December, according to new data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, closing the books on a year of remarkable economic resilience. The jobs report bookends a surprisingly strong year that largely defied earlier fears that interest rate hikes intended to bring down inflation would trigger a recession and drive more people out of work. The December jobs gain beat expectations from economists, who projected the US to add roughly 170,000 jobs last month, according to consensus estimates. December also extended the longest ... (full story)