The US economy added 216,000 jobs in December, data from the Labor Department revealed Friday, smashing Street projections of 170,000.
The unemployment rate remained at 3.8%, compared to an expected rise to 3.8%. The “real” unemployment rate, which includes workers not looking for jobs and those with part-time jobs due to economic conditions, ticked slightly higher to 7.1%. Unemployment among Black Americans fell to 5.2% from 5.8%.
Meanwhile, November’s job gains were revised down to 170,000 and October’s figure dropped to 105,000 from 150,000. All told, the labor market added 2.7 million jobs in 2023.
The labor force participation rate, which measures the share of the working-age population that is employed or looking for work, fell 0.3 percentage points to 62.5%, its lowest level since February.
The largest growth sector was government jobs, which increased by 52,000, followed by 40,000 leisure and hospitality positions and 38,000 healthcare jobs. Social assistance added 21,000, construction grew by 17,000 and retail gained 17,000.
Conversely, transportation and warehousing jobs decreased by 23,000.