Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 256k in December; Unemployment rate changed little at 4.1 percent
The unemployment rate changed little at 4.1 percent in December. After increasing earlier in the year, the unemployment rate has been either 4.1 percent or 4.2 percent for the past 7 months. The number of unemployed people, at 6.9 million, also changed little in December.
The number of people employed part time for economic reasons, at 4.4 million, changed little in December and is little different from a year earlier. These individuals would have preferred full-time employment but were working part time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs.
The number of people not in the labor force who currently want a job, at 5.5 million, was essentially unchanged in December. These individuals were not counted as unemployed because they were not actively looking for work during the 4 weeks preceding the survey or were unavailable to take a job.
Among those not in the labor force who wanted a job, the number of people marginally attached to the labor force, at 1.6 million, was virtually unchanged in December. These individuals wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months but had not looked for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. The number of discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were available for them, changed little at 480,000 in December.
INDUSTRY FOCUS
- Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 256,000 in December. Employment trended up in health care, government, and social assistance. Retail trade added jobs in December, following a job loss in -3- November. Payroll employment rose by 2.2 million in 2024 (an average monthly gain of 186,000), less than the increase of 3.0 million in 2023 (an average monthly gain of 251,000).
- Health care added 46,000 jobs in December, with gains in home health care services (+15,000), nursing and residential care facilities (+14,000), and hospitals (+12,000). Health care added an average of 57,000 jobs per month in 2024, the same as the average monthly gain in 2023.
- Retail trade added 43,000 jobs in December, following a loss of 29,000 jobs in November. In December, employment increased in clothing, clothing accessories, shoe, and jewelry retailers (+23,000); general merchandise retailers (+13,000); and health and personal care retailers (+7,000). Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers lost jobs (-11,000). Overall, employment in retail trade changed little in 2024, following an average monthly increase of 10,000 in 2023.
- Government employment continued to trend up in December (+33,000). Government added an average of 37,000 jobs per month in 2024, below the average monthly gain of 59,000 in 2023. Over the month, employment continued to trend up in state government (+10,000).
- Employment in social assistance increased by 23,000 in December, mostly in individual and family services (+17,000). Social assistance added an average of 18,000 jobs per month in 2024, below the average increase of 23,000 per month in 2023.
- Employment in leisure and hospitality changed little in December (+43,000). Leisure and hospitality added an average of 24,000 jobs per month in 2024, about half the average monthly gain of 47,000 in 2023.
- Employment showed little change over the month in other major industries, including mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; construction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; transportation and warehousing; information; financial activities; professional and business services; and other services.