U.S. adds strong 292,000 jobs in December, jobless rate mirrors Arkansas at 5%

The U.S. jobless rate remained unchanged for the third month in a row, stalling at the same level as Arkansas yet adding nearly 300,000 workers to U.S. payrolls in December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday (Jan. 8).

Nationwide, total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 292,000 in December, and the unemployment rate settled at 5.0%, the same as in October and November, Labor Department officials said.

Employment gains occurred in several industries, led by professional and business services, construction, health care, and food services and drinking places. Mining employment, which includes the oil and gas industry, continued to decline.

Employment in professional and business services increased by 73,000 in December, with temporary help services accounting for 34,000 of the gain. Construction showed strong job growth for the third consecutive month, gaining 45,000 jobs in December. Job gains occurred among specialty trade contractors (+29,000) and in construction of buildings (+10,000).

Health care employment in December rose by 39,000, with most of the increase occurring in ambulatory health care services (+23,000) and hospitals (+12,000). Food services and drinking places added 37,000 jobs in December, while employment in transportation and warehousing rose by 23,000 in December, with a gain of 15,000 in couriers and messengers.

Manufacturing employment changed little in December, though its nondurable goods component added 14,000 jobs. However, employment in mining continued to decline with job losses at 8,000 in the last month of the year.

PAYROLL GROWTH DOWN 12.9%
With the December’s totals now in, payroll employment growth totaled 2.7 million in 2015, down 12.9% from 3.1 million in 2014. Over the year, construction added 263,000 jobs, compared with a gain of 338,000 jobs in 2014.

Professional and business services added 605,000 jobs, compared with a gain of 704,000 in 2014. Job growth in health care averaged 40,000 per month in 2015, compared with 26,000 per month in 2014.

After adding 41,000 jobs in 2014, mining lost 129,000 jobs in 2015, with most of the loss in support activities for the oil and gas sector and coal industry. In 2015, manufacturing employment was little changed (+30,000), following strong growth in 2014 (+215,000).

Employment in professional and business services increased by 73,000 in December, with temporary help services accounting for 34,000 of the gain. In 2015, professional and business services added 605,000 jobs, compared with a gain of 704,000 in 2014.

MANUFACTURING HOURS DIP, WAGES STALL
Meanwhile, the average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 34.5 hours in December. The manufacturing workweek edged down by 0.1 hour to 40.6 hours, and factory overtime edged up by 0.1 hour to 3.3 hours.

On the wage front, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls fell one cents at $25.24, down from five cents improvement in November. Over the year, average hourly earnings have risen by 2.5%, just slightly ahead of gross domestic growth.

In November, a slight rise in job growth and a decline in number of unemployed pushed Arkansas’ jobless rate down to 5% in November, the first time the rate has been that low since April 2008. The rate is down from 5.1% in October, and well below the 5.7% rate in November. The state’s economy added an estimated 34,192 jobs – up 2.76% – between November 2014 and November 2015, BLS data shows.

The size of the workforce was 1.335 million, up 1.98% compared to November 2014. However, the workforce shrank from the 1.337 million in October. The peak for Arkansas’ labor force was 1.376 million in August 2008.

The Arkansas Department of Workforce Services will release the state’s final employment report for 2015 on Jan. 26. Arkansas’ unemployment rate at the end of 2014 was 5.7%, while the nation’s jobless rate was one percentage point lower at 5.6%.

The Jan. 6 GDPNow model forecast for U.S. real GDP growth (seasonally adjusted annual rate) in the fourth quarter of 2015 is now at 1%, up from 0.7% a week ago.