Mixed Trends in Employment Measures Highlight Workforce Shifts
Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 256,000 in December, blowing past the expectation of 155,000. October’s job gain was revised upward by 7,000 jobs to 43,000, while November’s job gain was revised downward by 15,000 to 212,000. The 12-month average stands at 186,000 job gains per month. The unemployment rate ticked down 0.1% to 4.1%, while the labor force participation rate stayed the same at 62.5%.
Manufacturing employment fell by 13,000, after the November gain of 25,000 jobs didn’t fully recoup the 52,000 jobs lost in October. For a second consecutive month, the most significant losses in manufacturing in December occurred in computer and electronic products, which shed 6,200 jobs over the month.
The employment-population ratio rose 0.2% to 60.0% but is down a slight 0.1 percentage point from a year ago. Employed persons who are part-time workers for economic reasons decreased by 111,000 to 4.36 million but are up from 4.22 million in December 2023. Native-born employment is down 68,000 over the month and 198,000 over the year. Meanwhile, foreign-born employment is also down over the month but up 342,000 over the year.
Average hourly earnings for all private nonfarm payroll employees rose 0.3%, or 10 cents, reaching $35.69. Over the past year, earnings have grown 3.9%. The average workweek for all employees stayed the same at 34.3 hours in December.