Employment rose by 50,000 jobs in December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday, while the unemployment rate fell two-tenths of a point to 4.4%.
The professional and business services sector lost 9,000 jobs, including 1,700 jobs lost in accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services. Many of the job gains last month came in the food services and drinking places sector (up 27,0000), health care (up 21,000), and social assistance (up 17,000), while the retail trade sector lost 25,000 jobs. The overall job gains for the year were the lowest since the pandemic-induced recession of 2020.
Average hourly earnings in December rose 12 cents, or 0.3%, to $37.02. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased 3.8%
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Missouri, attributed the job gains to the impact of the Trump administration's economic policies and the passage last year of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, or Public Law 119-21, which Republicans have rebranded as the Working Families Tax Cuts.
"The Working Families Tax Cuts will add fuel to the already strong economy we are seeing under President Trump's America First economic policies," Smith said in a statement Friday. "The private sector continues to drive job growth. Wages are rising faster than prices, so people have more real income in their pockets than under Joe Biden. The economy is growing faster than the so-called Washington experts predicted, and this spring, families can expect bigger paychecks and the largest tax refunds in history that will further help Americans recover from the Democrats' inflation crisis."
Despite the job gains reported in December, heavy job losses were reported in the fall, with downward revisions in the two previous job reports that were delayed by the six-week government shutdown. October's job number was revised down by 68,000 jobs from a loss of 105,000 to 173,000 jobs, while November's number was revised down by 8,000, from a gain of 64,000 to 56,000 jobs. With both revisions, the employment total in October and November combined was 76,000 lower than the BLS previously reported. December's job gains fell short of economists' expectations and were below the revised number for November, indicating a continued cooldown in the labor market.
