In what is being described by economists as an either a shocking, or depending upon who’s doing the talking, slightly surprising result, last month saw a gain of 216,000 new jobs nationally.
According to a just-released report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job gains were in almost every segment, and significantly higher than the consensus 160,000 to 175,000 jobs that most economists had predicted for the month.
The gain was significantly greater than November’s numbers, which came in at around 173,000, and even more, were above a three-month final quarter rolling average of 164,000.
The most recent figures, said Labor Department Acting Secretary Julie Su, “demonstrate an economy that’s growing at a strong and steady pace, which was a consistent story throughout 2023.”
Su added that looking at the entirety of last year, “jobs grew by an average of 225,000 a month, totaling 2.7 million jobs created in 2023.”
Remarked the Washington Times: “The latest data reflect an economy and a job market that are decelerating back to pre-pandemic norms.”
Among the gainers: the government sector, with 52,000 new jobs in December; leisure and hospitality, up by 44,000; technical services, with a 25,000 gain; and social assistance, up by 22,000.
Construction employment witnessed a healthy jump of 17,000 new workers. Of that figure, 8,000 were in nonresidential building.
Nonresidential specialty employment was up by 4,300; with the residential specialty sector up by 1,600. In a countervailing trend, the heavy and civil engineering sector lost 500 jobs in December.
“Construction employment increased for the ninth consecutive month, with the nonresidential segment adding jobs at a particularly rapid pace,” noted Aniban Basu, chief economist with the Associated Builders and Contractors.
But taking note of increased construction worker pay, Bass cautioned: “The combination of faster wage growth and a smaller labor force suggests that interest rates could remain higher for longer.”
By Garry Boulard
