Job Gains Maintain Moderate Pace; Wages Up
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 156,000 in December, while the unemployment rate edged up slightly to 4.7 percent, the Labor Department reported Friday.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics revised total nonfarm payroll employment for October was down from +142,000 to +135,000, November up from +178,000 to +204,000. With these revisions, employment gains in October and November were 19,000 higher than previously reported. Over the past three months, job gains have averaged 165,000 per month.
The unemployment rate and the number of unemployed persons, at 7.5 million, changed little in December. However, both measures edged down in the fourth quarter, after showing little net change earlier in the year. The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was essentially unchanged at 1.8 million in December and accounted for 24.2 percent of the unemployed. In 2016, the number of long-term unemployed declined by 263,000.
BLS reported the labor force participation rate, at 62.7 percent, changed little in December and was unchanged over the year. In December, the employment-population ratio was 59.7 percent for the third consecutive month.
“Continued job gains at a moderating pace, rising wages and the unemployment rate at full employment signal a tight labor market, noting the case for further Fed moves remains in place,” said John Silvia, chief economist with Wells Fargo Securities, Charlotte, N.C.
The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 34.3 hours in December. In manufacturing, the workweek edged up by 0.1 hour to 40.7 hours, and overtime edged up by 0.1 hour to 3.3 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls remained at 33.6 hours.
Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 10 cents to $26.00, after edging down by 2 cents in November. Over the year, average hourly earnings have risen by 2.9 percent. In December, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees increased by 7 cents to $21.80.
