US Unemployment Rate Falls to Five-Year Low of 6.7% in December but Job Growth Lags

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today that the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 6.7 percent in December. As the following chart shows, unemployment has not been that low since October 2008, more than five years ago. According to the household survey, on which the unemployment rate is based, the number of unemployed workers decreased by 490,000 in the month. The labor force decreased by 347,000 workers, leaving a net increase of 143,000 employed workers.

The BLS also tracks the number of nonfarm payroll jobs, based on a separate survey of employers. Payroll job gains for December, at 74,000, were the weakest for the year. Goods-producing industries lost 3,000 jobs, mostly because of a decline in construction activity. Manufacturing gained 9,000 jobs. Private service sector jobs rose by 90,000. Government jobs decreased by 13,000 for the month. The weak job numbers for December were partly offset by an upward revision of 38,000 to job growth previously reported for November. >>>Read more

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