Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 156,000 nationwide in December, and the unemployment rate remained at 4.7%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Beyond those key metrics, the number of unemployed persons, which stood at 7.5 million in December, changed little from November but edged downward in the fourth quarter after showing little net change earlier in the year.
Other key findings from the December jobs report are as follows:
- America’s labor force participation rate, now at 62.7%, changed little in December and was unchanged over the year.
- The number of long-term unemployed people — those jobless for 27 weeks or more — was essentially unchanged at 1.8 million in December and accounted for 24.2% of the unemployed. In 2016, the number of long-term unemployed declined by 263,000.
- Among the major worker groups, unemployment rates showed little change in December: adult men, 4.4%; adult women, 4.3%; teenagers, 14.7%; whites, 4.3%; blacks, 7.8%; Asians, 2.6%; and Hispanics, 5.9%.
