December Job Growth Report: U.S. Adds 223,000 Jobs
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, December 2022 marked two straight years of consistent and consecutive job growth in the United States.
With 223,000 new jobs added in the U.S. throughout December, 2022 closed out 12 straight months of job growth.
Is the U.S. job market growing right now?
Despite the Dow Jones estimates that the job market would grow by 200,000 jobs, December’s job growth exceeded expectations. Not only were more jobs added than estimated, but unemployment also dropped slightly from 3.7% in November to 3.5% in December. These trends indicate that the job market is indeed continuing to grow.
U.S. unemployment rates by group:
- Adult women: 3.2%
- Adult men: 3.1%
- Teenagers: 10.4%
- Whites: 3.0%
- Blacks: 5.7%
- Asians: 2.4%
- Hispanics: 4.1%
Additional employment statistics for December 2022:
- The number of discouraged workers, who believed that no jobs were available for them, remained relatively unchanged at 410,000 in December.
- Average hourly earnings have increased by 4.6% over the past 12 months.
- Despite the increase in earnings over the past 12 months, slowing overall wage growth is being touted as a signal that inflation may be easing.
U.S. industries with notable job growth in December
Leisure and hospitality
After a slight dip in October, the leisure and hospitality sector added 67,000 new jobs.
The most notable growth came in subsectors food services and drinking places with 26,000 jobs, amusements, gambling, and recreation with 25,000 jobs added, and accommodation with 10,000 jobs.
Health care job growth
The health care industry continued to grow in November, adding 55,000 jobs.
Ambulatory health care services accounted for 30,000 jobs, hospital jobs accounted for 16,000, and nursing and residential care facilities added 9,000 jobs.
Construction
Construction jobs saw a significant uptick and bumped Government jobs out of the thrid place spot for most jobs added in December.
The majority of jobs added in construction at 17,000 were taken by specialty trade contractors.
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