Jan. 9 (UPI) — The United States added 50,000 nonfarm jobs in December, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ jobs report published Friday.
The bureau’s seasonally adjusted addition of 50,000 nonfarm jobs was lower than the 56,000 it had projected. That projection was revised downward from the 73,000 estimated by Dow Jones in November.
There was little change in the unemployment rate, falling to 4.4% from a forecasted 4.5%. The unemployment rate in December 2024 was 4.1%, with an increase of 256,000 seasonally adjusted nonfarm jobs.
Labor force participation fell to 62.4%, another slight change. For the year, about 49,000 jobs were added on a per month average, far lower than the 168,000 per month in 2024.
The biggest contributor to December job growth was the restaurant and bar industry, rising by 27,000 jobs. The government added only 2,000 jobs.
The average hours worked for all private nonfarm employees fell to 34.2 hours, a tenth of an hour decrease. Manufacturing workers averaged a 0.2 hour decrease to 39.9 hours per week.
Average hourly earnings ticked up by 0.3% or about 12 cents, with the annual increase reaching 3.8%. Private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees’ wages increased by about 3 cents on average in December, reaching $31.76 per hour.
Friday’s report is the first to be delivered on time since the record 43-day government shutdown began in October.
The report follows ADP’s Wednesday report showing private-sector employment rose by less than expected with 41,000 jobs added in December.