Employment increased by 155,000 in December and the unemployment rate rose slightly

Employment increased by 155,000 in December and the unemployment rate rose slightly The non-agricultural report for December is finally out, with mixed data. The employment population increased by 155,000, which is better than...

Data released by the Labor Department on Friday showed that non-farm payroll employment increased by 155,000 in December, while economists had expected an increase of 150,000. Nonfarm employment increased by 146,000 in November. The unemployment rate in December was 7.8%, while economists had expected 7.8%. The unemployment rate was 7.7% in November, the highest level since August 2010.

In addition, the data also showed that the average hourly wage increased by 0.3% monthly in December, which is expected to increase by 0.2%; the annual rate increased by 2.1%, and the previous value increased by 1.7%. The average weekly working hours in December was 34.5 hours, compared with the expected 34.4 hours.