U.S. Added 200,000 Jobs in December

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported this morning that total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 200,000 jobs in December. This marked 14 consecutive months of over-the-month job growth. December job gains occurred in transportation and warehousing (50,000), retail trade (28,000), manufacturing and health care (23,000 each), and mining (7,000).

The U.S. added roughly 1.6 million jobs from December 2010 to December 2011. Employment in the private sector rose by 212,000 in December and by 1.9 million over the year. Government employment changed little over the month but fell by 280,000 over the year.


This December's unemployment rate (8.5%) sat 0.9 percentage points below the December 2010 rate of 9.4 percent. The civilian labor force rose by 274,000 persons during the 12-month period, However, the labor force has declined by 170,000 from its 2011 peak in October.

Get more details on unemployment by age and gender, the long-term unemployed, and the rest of the nation's December employment situation in the full news release.