According to a recent report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 312,000 in December and the unemployment rate rose to 3.9 percent. Construction and manufacturing were responsible for the top job gains, in addition to healthcare, food services and retail trade.
Construction employment rose by 38,000 in December, with job gains in heavy and civil engineering construction (resulting in more than 16,000 job gains) and nonresidential specialty trade construction (resulting in more than 16,000), the survey reported. The construction industry added 280,000 jobs in 2018, compared with an increase of 250,000 in 2017.
Manufacturing added 32,000 jobs in December. The survey reported most of the gain occurred in the durable goods component (more than 19,000), with job growth in fabricated metal products (more than 7,000) and in computer and electronic products (more than 4,000). Employment in the nondurable goods component also increased over the month more than 13,000). Manufacturing employment increased by 284,000 over the year, with about three-fourths of the gain in durable goods industries. Manufacturing had added 207,000 jobs in 2017.
The unemployment rate rose by 0.2 percentage point to 3.9 percent in December according to the report, and the number of unemployed persons increased by 276,000 to 6.3 million. A year earlier, the jobless rate was 4.1 percent and the number of unemployed persons was 6.6 million.
More information on this year’s revisions to seasonally adjusted series is available at www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cps-seas-adjustment-methodology.pdf. Detailed information on the seasonal adjustment methodology can be found at www.bls.gov/cps/seasonal-adjustment-methodology.htm.
