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The U.S. economy added 148,000 jobs in December, the Labor Department says, issuing the monthly jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate was 4.1 percent, unchanged from November.


Analysts had predicted the Labor Department report would show another month of solid job gains. But it's a sharp dropoff from 

"Employment gains occurred in health care, construction, and manufacturing," the BLS says. Many other sectors and nearly all demographic groups saw little change.

With the data for December now in, U.S. job growth fell in 2017, to 2.1 million from 2.2 million in 2016. The result narrowly maintains the country's seven-year streak of adding at least 2 million jobs.


Here's how key sectors performed in 2017 compared to 2016, from 

 BLS acting Commissioner William J. Wiatrowski:


The agency also issued revised figures for the two most recent months, dropping the October number from a gain of 244,000 to a gain of 211,000 and raising the November result from 228,000 to 252,000. Together, those months' gains are now 9,000 less than had been previously reported.


Average hourly earnings rose by 9 cents in December, to $26.63. Over the past 12 months, the BLS says, average hourly earnings have risen by 2.5 percent.  Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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It's a sharp dropoff from the November result of more than 250,000 jobs. The unemployment rate was 4.1 percent, unchanged from November.

148,000 jobs added to U.S. economy in December

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