US Economy Added 223,000 Jobs in December, Bringing 2022 Total to 4.5M
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The United States economy added 223,000 jobs in December, according to a jobs report released by the Department of Labor on Friday. Unemployment fell to 3.5%, matching a half-century low. This is one of the last reports on 2022 jobs data, with the year’s total job growth finishing at 4.5 million, bringing employment back to pre-pandemic levels,
Key Quote: In a statement released Friday, U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh stated, “we begin 2023 positioned to sustain this worker-centered progress, as the administration’s infrastructure investments and the resurgence of American manufacturing continue to create good jobs across the country. With the Inflation Reduction Act going into effect, health insurance and prescription drug costs are lower for millions of families, small business owners, and retirees; and clean energy incentives will further lower household costs and create good jobs for years to come.”
Job Gains: The largest sectors for job growth in December were leisure and hospitality, which added 67,000 workers, health care, which added 54,700 workers, construction, which added 28,000 workers, and social assistance, which added 19,700 workers.
Job Losses: Not all sectors saw growth in December. Employment services lost 39,700 workers, and advertising lost 4,200 workers.
How The Media Covered It: Despite a cooling labor market, outlets across the spectrum are predicting additional interest rate hikes to be imposed by the Federal Reserve in the coming months as inflation remains above the Fed’s desired percentage.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
US adds 223,000 jobs in December, ending 2022 on high note
The US jobs market ended 2022 on a high note, adding another 223,000 jobs in December, the department of labor reported on Friday. The unemployment rate dipped to 3.5%, back to its pre-pandemic low.
The continued strength of the jobs market comes as the Federal Reserve has struggled to cool hiring and bring down inflation by raising interest rates at a pace unseen in a generation.
Jobs growth has slowed – the US added an average of 539,000 new positions per month in the first three months of 2022 –...
From the Right
US job growth cools slightly in December as economy adds 223,000 new positions
U.S. hiring cooled in December to the lowest pace in two years, but the labor market remained resilient in the face of higher interest rates, scorching-hot inflation and mounting recession fears.
Employers added 223,000 jobs in December, the Labor Department said in its monthly payroll report released Friday, topping the 200,000 jobs forecast by Refinitiv economists. Still, it marks a slight deceleration from the downwardly revised gain of 256,000 in November and is the worst month for job creation since December 2020. The unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 3.5%, a five-decade...
From the Left
U.S. adds 223,000 jobs in December, capping a strong year for the labor market Employers finished the year with a burst of hiring: The economy added 223,000 jobs in December, while the unemployment rate fell back to a half-century low of 3.5%, the Labor Department reported on Friday.
Why it matters: The labor market is still chugging along with healthy demand for workers, the latest sign that the economy is holding up despite recession fears.
December's payroll gains are slightly higher than the 200,000 that economists forecast for the month.
Jobs growth moderated from November's gains, which were revised down to 256,000. In October,...
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