US gains a lacklustre 148,000 jobs in December with unemployment unchanged
Washington — The US economy’s job-creation ability disappointed in December, despite solid hiring in manufacturing and construction, according to government data reported on Friday. While the unemployment rate held steady at the 17-year low of 4.1%, employers added just 148,000 new hires in the final month of the year, far below expectations, and even below the sluggish 155,000 reported in December 2016. Economists had been expecting 200,000 new jobs or more last month, especially after payroll services firms ADP said on Thursday that private hiring surged by 250,000 in the month. While the ADP report can be volatile, it prompted some economists to revise their forecasts upwards. Revisions to the October and November data subtracted 9,000 jobs from the economy, making the picture for the fourth quarter even more disappointing. Job creation in the final three months of the year averaged 204,000, the Labour Department said. The slowing could point to an economy nearly at full employme...
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