December Jobs Report
- last year
Payrolls increased by 223,000 in December, above the Dow Jones estimate of 200,000 and down from the 256,000 gain in November. The unemployment rate fell to 3.5 percent. Leisure and hospitality gained 67,000 jobs, health care 55,000 jobs, construction 28,000 jobs, and social assistance 20,000. Average hourly earnings rose 0.3 percent, an increase from 4.6 percent a year ago.