The United States added 216,000 jobs in December and the unemployment rate held steady at 3.7%, marking a year of remarkable economic resilience, according to new data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. concluded.
The jobs data capped off a surprisingly strong year, largely reversing earlier concerns that interest rate hikes aimed at curbing inflation would trigger a recession and put more people out of work.
Job growth in December was higher than economists expected, according to consensus forecasts, which had expected U.S. jobs to rise by about 170,000 jobs last month.
December also marked the longest period with the unemployment rate below 4% since the mid-1960s.
The first jobs report for 2024 comes as President Biden seeks to sway public opinion on the economy with less than a year until he makes the case for a second term. Despite a strong labor market, Mr. Biden has struggled to convince voters of how he is handling the economy after two years of high inflation.
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