The U.S. economy added 155,000 new jobs in December, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Department of Labor, and the official unemployment rate remained at 7.8%.
December employment data was better than expected, given the tense fiscal cliff negotiations that took place last month. While strong gains were seen in construction, where 30,000 new jobs were added due to a resurgent housing market, the retail sector lost 11,300 jobs during the height of the holiday shopping season, another indication that holiday sales were disappointing.
Meanwhile, the health care sector added the most jobs, with 55,000 new positions, professional services (including the information technology industry) added 19,000, and financial services gained 9,000.
The Labor Department also revised November job gains upward by 15,000, to 161,000, while October’s increase remained at 137,000 new jobs.
Economists say the U.S. economy must create at least 150,000 new jobs each month just to keep up with changes in population and the labor market, and it must create about 250,000 to quickly bring down the unemployment rate.
