Economics
U.S. Payrolls Rise 156,000 as Wages Increase Most Since 2009
- Unemployment rate ticks up to 4.7% as labor force expands
- Factories, health-care businesses, restaurants add workers
U.S. Adds 156,000 Jobs in Dec., Jobless Rate at 4.7%
This article is for subscribers only.
The U.S. labor market turned in a solid performance at the end of 2016, putting job gains above 2 million for a sixth year as paychecks rose by the most during the current expansion.
The 156,000 increase in December payrolls followed a 204,000 rise in November that was bigger than previously estimated, a Labor Department report showed Friday in Washington. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 175,000 advance. The jobless rate ticked up to 4.7 percent as the labor force grew, and wages rose 2.9 percent from December 2015.