December U.S. Jobs Report: Payrolls 216,000, Stronger Than Expected

The U.S. economy added 216,000 jobs in November, according to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The government’s report revised down previous estimates for new job creation in October.

The unemployment rate held steady at 3.7%.

Nonfarm payroll employment had been forecast to rise by 160,000 in November, and the unemployment rate was expected to rise to 3.8%, according to FactSet’s consensus estimates.

December Jobs Report Key Stats

• Total nonfarm payrolls increased by 216,000 versus a downward revised 173,000 in November.
• The unemployment rate was unchanged from 3.7% in November.
• Average hourly wages grew by 0.4% to $34.27 after rising 0.4% in November.

In December, average hourly wages climbed by 15 cents, or 0.4%, to $34.27. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have risen by 4.1%.

The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls dropped to 34.3 hours in December, up from 34.4 hours in November. For manufacturing employees, the average workweek dropped to 39.8 hours in December, and overtime was little changed at 2.9 hours. For production and nonsupervisory employees, the average workweek was reduced to 33.7 hours from 33.8 the prior month.