156,000 Jobs Added to the Economy in December

The Latest From the BLS Employment Report:

The US economy added 156,000 jobs in December according to employment data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate raised slightly to 4.7 percent this month.

In December, employment gains occurred in health care and social assistance. The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for October was revised down from 142,000 to 135,000 and November was revised up from 178,000 to 204,000. With these revisions, employment gains in October and November combined were 19,000 more than previously reported. Over the past 3 months, job gains have averaged 165,000 per month. Private-sector employment is on its longest streak of growth on record.

As 2016 comes to an end, all eyes are on the jobless rate and the wage growth. The unemployment rate, at 4.7 percent, and the number of unemployed 7.5 million, changed little in December. After the rise in average hourly earnings hit a seven-year high of 2.8 percent in October, wages dipped in November, but rose again by 10 cents in December.  However, the average increase in hourly earnings is a significant uptick – most likely due to the anticipated FLSA ruling on raising minimum wage.

Economists’ predictions

Economists predicted 175,000 additions ahead of this morning’s jobs report and the report did not quite meet expectations. 156,000 jobs were added this month which is nearly in line with the six months growth pattern.

This Month’s Report

Let’s break down the numbers from this month’s report.

In December, hourly wages increased by $0.10 to $26 per hour, bringing the year-over-year wage percentage increase to 2.9 percent. The unemployment rate saw a slight uptick to 4.7 percent.

• Wages:
• $26 December
• + $0.10 month-over-month
• + 2.9% year-over-year
• $25.90 November
• Unemployment:
• 4.7% December
  • +0.1% month-over-month
• 4.6% November

#JobsReport! Check out this month's #employmentsituation: http://ajilon.co/2iJWbhC

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In-Depth Look: Our Industries

Let’s dive right into a look at how our industries compare to the national numbers:

• Professional and business services
  • Month-over-month change: +15,000
  • +522,000 jobs added year-over-year
• Construction
  • Month-over-month change: -3,000
  • +102,000 jobs added year-over-year
• Manufacturing
  • Month-over-month change: 17,000
  • -45,000 jobs lost year-over-year
• Transportation and warehousing
  • Month-over-month change: +14,700
  • +62,100 year-over-year job gains
• Health care
  • Month-over-month change: +43,200
  • +421,700 year-over-year job gains
• Hospitals
  • Month-over-month change: +10,700
  • +139,500 jobs added in the last year
• Administrative and support services
  • Month-over-month change: +400
  • +187,300 jobs added year-over-year
• Office Administrative Services
  • Month-over-month change: +1,700
  • +21,700 jobs added year-over-year

The market remains hot for job seekers looking for top HR, non-clinical healthcare and supply chain and logistics positions; therefore employers will need to stay competitive. Make sure you’re paying your people the right salary and doing everything you can to recruit and retain the best talent – check out our 2017 Salary Guide. 

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Ajilon

You've got a very specific area of expertise. So do we. Our recruiters and staffing specialists work with only the best administrative, healthcare, human resources, and supply chain and logistics professionals in the country. That's all we do. Every single day.