Key Points:
- Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 256,000 in December and the unemployment rate fell slightly to 4.1%.
- Consensus was a gain of 160,000 jobs.
- The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for October was revised up by 7,000, from +36,000 to +43,000, and the change for November was revised down by 15,000, from +227,000 to +212,000. With these revisions, employment in October and November combined is 8,000 lower than previously reported.
- Healthcare added 46,000 jobs in December, retail trade added 43,000, leisure and hospitality rose by 43,000, and government employment rose by 33,000.
- In December, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by $0.10 to $35.69.
- The average workweek for all private employees was 34.3 hours in December for the fifth month in a row.
- The labor force participation rate fell remained at 62.5% and is 0.9% below its February 2020 level.
- The Right Facts will continue to monitor employment.