US Nonfarm Payroll Increases by 256,000 in December; Unemployment Holds Steady at 4.1%

On Friday, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that total nonfarm payroll employment increased 256,000 in December, following an increase of 227,000 in November.

Payroll employment rose by 2.2 million in 2024, averaging 186,000 new jobs per month. This marks a decline from 2023, which saw a rise of 3.0 million jobs and an average monthly gain of 251,000.

Job growth in December was widespread across various sectors:

• Health care added 46,000 jobs, with an average monthly gain of 57,000 jobs throughout 2024—matching the 2023 monthly average.
• Retail trade gained 43,000 jobs after losing 29,000 in November. However, employment in retail trade showed little overall change in 2024, compared to an average monthly increase of 10,000 jobs in 2023.
• Government employment continued to rise, adding 33,000 jobs and averaging 37,000 new jobs per month in 2024. This was lower than the 59,000 monthly average in 2023.
• Social assistance gained 23,000 jobs, with an average monthly increase of 18,000 in 2024—down from the 23,000 monthly average in 2023.
• Leisure and hospitality added 43,000 jobs, with an average monthly gain of 24,000 jobs in 2024. This is about half the 47,000 monthly average 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.

The unemployment rate changed little at 4.1% in December. After increasing earlier in the year, the unemployment rate has been either 4.1% or 4.2% for the past 7 months. The number of unemployed people, at 6.9 million, also changed little in December.

Revisions

Monthly revisions result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimate and from recalculations of seasonal factors.

The change in employment for October was revised upward by 7,000, from 36,000 to 43,000. However, November’s figure was revised downward 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.