WASHINGTON DC ? The U.S. Labor Department reported Friday that nonfarm payrolls rose by 200,000 last month. The unemployment rate, obtained by a separate survey of U.S. households, sank to 8.5 percent in December, its lowest level since February 2009. November’s rate was revised up to 8.7 percent.
The Labor Department said private companies added 212,000 jobs, while the public sector – federal, state and local governments – shrank by 12,000.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast a gain of 155,000 in payrolls and a jobless rate of 8.7 percent.
November’s figure for nonfarm payroll jobs was revised down to show a rise of 100,000 from a previously reported 120,000, and October was revised to a 112,000 gain from 100,000.
The latest figures – the broadest snapshot of the labor market – follow other positive readings, including a steady drop in new claims for unemployment benefits.
All together, the economy has added jobs for 15 consecutive months -since October 2010. But while the latest numbers are broadly positive, the overall pace of job creation hasn’t been nearly enough to regain ground lost during the recession.
The economy added 1.6 million jobs in 2011, bringing nonfarm payrolls to about 131.9 million last month. That is roughly 6.1 million less than January 2008, before the recession started damaging the labor market. In total, the downturn and its aftermath wiped out about 8.8 million jobs.
Economists generally believe that the U.S. needs to add more than 125,000 jobs a month just to keep up with population growth.
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