Nonfarm payroll employment added 256,000 jobs in December, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This brings total job growth for 2024 to 2.2 million, below 2023’s increase of 3.0 million.
The December report also includes updates for October and November job growth. October’s total was revised up to 43,000, while November’s was revised down to 212,000.
Industries that led job gains for the month included health care (+46,000), retail trade (+43,000), and government (+33,000). Temporary help services had a small increase of 5,300 in December, while manufacturing lost 13,000 jobs.
The unemployment rate changed little at 4.1% over the month, with 6.9 million people unemployed, and the labor force participation rate remained at 62.5%.
Private sector employers add 122,000 jobs
Employment grew by 122,000 jobs in the private sector in December. Education / health services (+57,000), construction (+27,000), and leisure / hospitality (+22,000) added the most jobs, while jobs decreased in manufacturing (-11,000), natural resources / mining (-6,000), and professional / business services (-5,000).
Most of the job gains were in larger businesses (500+ employees), which added 97,000. Meanwhile, jobs decreased by 1,000 in the smallest establishments (1-19 employees).
ADP reported a year-over-year pay growth of 4.6% for job-stayers and 7.1% for job-changers, both of which declined slightly compared to November.
