WASHINGTON – Non-farm payroll employment rose 200,000 in December while the unemployment rate fell to 8.5%, the Labor Department reported Friday.
The increase in December non-farm payroll employment was the result of gains in transportation, warehousing, retail trade, manufacturing, healthcare, and mining. The level was much higher than the median 150,000 increase estimated by economists polled by Thomson Reuters, and the 8.5% unemployment rate was lower than they median 8.7% rate they projected.
The 200,000 non-farm payroll employment gain for December followed a revised 100,000 increase for November. The 8.5% unemployment rate was down from an 8.7% rate for the previous month.
Total private payrolls were up 212,000 while government payrolls were down 12,000 in December.
Manufacturing employers added 23,000 jobs, after gaining a revised 1,000 jobs in November.
Average hourly earnings remained the same in December, after an unrevised gain of 0.1% the previous month.
The workweek for all private workers rose to 33.7 hours from an unrevised 33.6 hours in November.
