WASHINGTON, D.C. — The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its December jobs report on Friday, showing that employment in the country increased by 223,000. The sectors that saw the greatest growth were leisure and hospitality, health care, construction, and social assistance.
In comparison to 2021, employment in the US increased by 4.5 million in 2022, an average monthly gain of 375,000. This figure is lower than the increase of 6.7 million seen in 2021, which had an average monthly gain of 562,000.
Leisure and hospitality saw an average of 79,000 jobs added per month in 2022, a significant decrease from the average gain of 196,000 jobs per month in 2021. Healthcare employment increased by an average of 49,000 jobs per month in 2022, a considerable improvement from the average monthly gain of 9,000 in 2021. Construction employment increased by an average of 19,000 jobs per month in 2022, similar to the average of 16,000 per month in 2021. Social assistance added an average of 17,000 jobs per month in 2022, compared to an average of 13,000 per month in 2021. Other industries, such as mining, retail trade, manufacturing, transportation and warehousing, and professional and business services, showed little change or slightly decreased compared to 2021.
On a positive note, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 4.6% over the past year.
In response to the jobs report, President Joe Biden stated, “Today’s report is great news for our economy and more evidence that my economic plan is working. The unemployment rate is the lowest in 50 years. We have just finished the two strongest years of job growth in history. And we are seeing a transition to steady and stable growth that I have been talking about for months. We still have work to do to bring down inflation, and help American families feeling the cost-of-living squeeze. But we are moving in the right direction.”
The full report can be viewed here.