U.S. employers downshifted their hiring in December, adding 145,000 jobs as consumer spending appeared to aid gains in the retail and hospitality sectors.
The Labor Department said Friday the unemployment rate held at 3.5% for the second straight month, prolonging a half-century low.
Previously
Hiring slipped after robust gains of 256,000 in November caused in part by the end of a strike at General Motors.
The U.S. economy added 2.1 million jobs last year, down from gains of nearly 2.7 million in 2018.
What it means
Hiring may have slowed because the number of unemployed people seeking work has fallen by 540,000 people during the last year to 5.75 million.
With fewer unemployed people hunting for jobs, there is a potential limit on job gains.
The steady hiring growth during the expansion has contributed to gains in consumer spending.
Credit: Lynne Sladky
Credit: Lynne Sladky
Retail sales during the crucial holiday shopping period improved 3.4% compared with the prior year, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse. This likely contributed to a surge of hiring in retail as that sector added 41,200 jobs in December.
The leisure and hospitality sector — which includes restaurants and hotels — added 40,000 jobs. Health care and social assistance accounted for 33,900 new jobs.
The Georgia angle
Metro Atlanta’s job market is stronger today than a year ago.
From December 2018 through November, Metro Atlanta has added 61,200 jobs, 37% more than the year before. Larger companies still account for nearly half of all job listings.
But, for the last several months, they have been posting significantly fewer jobs than during the same period a year earlier, according to an analysis by Glassdoor, a California-based firm that tracks the labor market.
Hourly pay stagnant
Job growth has failed so far to put upward pressure on hourly pay. The pace of annual average wage growth slowed in December to 2.9% from 3.1% in the prior month, a possible sign that there is still room for additional job gains despite the decade-plus expansion.
Other weaknesses
The report suggests a lingering weakness in manufacturing.
Factories shed 12,000 jobs in December, after the end of the GM strike produced gains of 58,000 in November. Manufacturing companies added 46,000 jobs in all of 2019.
Manufacturing struggled last year because of trade tensions between the United States and China coupled with slower global economic growth. Safety problems at Boeing have also hurt orders for aircraft and parts.
— Compiled by ArLuther Lee, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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