December 2019 Jobs Report
Unemployment Rate: 3.5 percent
Jobs Created: 145,000
Employment and Unemployment
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The Department of Labor reported the unemployment rate held steady at 3.5% in December.
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Nonfarm jobs grew by 145,000 in December. Economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal had expected 160,000 jobs.
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Job growth for October and November was lower than originally reported. The department revised the job creation numbers down for those months by a combined 14,000 jobs.
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The U-6 unemployment rate, a measure that also includes part-time and discouraged workers, dropped 0.2 percentage point to 6.7%.
Labor Force Participation
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The labor force participation rate, the share of people employed or looking for work, remained constant at 63.2%.
Wages
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In December, average hourly earnings for all employees in private nonfarm jobs increased by 3 cents to $28.32. They are up 2.9% from a year ago.
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