U.S. Economy Adds 145K Jobs in December, Wage Growth Drops Below 3%

U.S. Economy Adds 145K Jobs in December, Wage Growth Drops Below 3%

The United States economy added 145,000 jobs in the month of December, while unemployment remained at a 50-year-low of 3.5 percent, announced the U.S. Department of Labor on Friday.

However, wage growth dropped below 3% for the first time since July of 2018.

U.S. Adds Jobs

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According to the Department of Labor, notable job gains occurred in retail trade and health care, while mining lost jobs.

In December, retail trade added 41,000 jobs.

Employment increased in clothing and accessories stores by 33,000 and in building material and garden supply stores 7,000.

Employment in health care increased by 28,000 in December.

Employment in leisure and hospitality continued to rise in December adding 40,000 jobs.

According to the Department of Labor, mining employment declined by 8,000 in December.

Construction employment changed little in December (+20,000). Employment in the industry rose by 151,000 in 2019, about half of the 2018 gain of 307,000.

Unemployment Break Down

According to the Department of Labor, the unemployment rates for adult men was 3.1 percent, adult women was 3.2 percent, teenagers was 12.6 percent, Whites was 3.2 percent, Blacks was 5.9 percent, Asians was 2.5 percent, and Hispanics was 4.2 percent.

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more), was 1.2 million.