US economy adds 216,000 jobs in December, beating expectations

U.S. job growth continued to chug along at a healthy pace in December, suggesting that the labor market remains resilient even in the face of higher interest rates, stubborn inflation and other economic uncertainties.

Employers added 216,000 jobs in December, the Labor Department said in its monthly payroll report released Friday. That was slightly above the 170,000 jobs forecast by Refinitiv economists.

The unemployment rate held steady at 3.7%.