Employment Surges in December
US Employment Strengthens as China's Inflation Stays Low
US non-farm payroll employment increases by 292,000
With job additions in the professional and business services, construction, healthcare, and food services sectors, total non-farm payroll employment jumped by 292,000 in December. This is far above the consensus estimate of 200,000. Total non-farm private payroll employment surged by 275,000 in December 2015. The unemployment rate remained at 5.0% in December.
Private goods producers add 45,000 jobs
In December, private goods producers and the construction sector each added 45,000 jobs. Mining continued its decline, shedding 8,000 jobs in December. The decline in demand for industrial commodities has resulted in a decrease of workforce requirements in mining jobs. Over the month leading up to January 8, the SPDR S&P Metals and Mining ETF (XME) fell by 10.0%. Mining stocks Alcoa (AA), Nucor (NUE), U.S. Steel Corporation (X), and Reliance Steel & Aluminum (RS) were down by 7.7%, 8.9%, 0.67%, and 4.9%, respectively, over the same period.
Private service providers add 230,000 jobs
In December, private service providers added 230,000 jobs. The professional and business services sector added 73,000 jobs, while education and health services added 59,000 jobs in December. Job gains were also seen in transportation and warehousing, which grew by 23,100, and leisure and hospitality, which grew by 29,000 in December. The financial activity sector saw a jump of 11,000 jobs in December.
Although non-farm payroll employment surged, the average hourly earnings remained unchanged between December 2015 and the previous month.
An increase in employment is a positive sign, indicating that the economy is trying to regain some strength with new jobs. However, the weakness in wage growth remained a concern in December. Let’s see how wholesale trade is shaping up in the next article.
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