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US jobs growth loses steam in December US jobs growth loses steam in December
(about 4 hours later)
US job growth slowed by more than expected in December as the retail sector lost more than 20,000 workers. US employers added fewer jobs than expected in December, capping a year of slowing jobs growth.
Non-farm payrolls rose by 148,000, the Labor Department said - far lower than the revised figure of 252,000 created in November. Non-farm payrolls rose by 148,000 last month, amid losses in the retail sector, the Labor Department said.
The December unemployment rate was steady at 4.1%. But the unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%, the lowest it has been since 2000.
Analysts say the tightening labour market, which makes it harder to hire, is driving a broader slowdown in job creation.
The US has experienced years of economic expansion, which has boosted economic growth above 3% in recent quarters and produced annual job gains exceeding 2 million for the past seven years.
The gains are making inroads among parts of the workforce that have been slower to benefit from the economic recovery.
Among black workers, for example, the unemployment rate fell to 6.8% last month - the lowest since at least 1972, when Labor Department data starts.
Economists have been puzzled that the lower rates have not produced stronger wage growth in recent years.
But that dynamic could be on the verge of change.
Annual wages growth crept up from 2.4% in November to 2.5% as average hourly earnings rose by nine cents.Annual wages growth crept up from 2.4% in November to 2.5% as average hourly earnings rose by nine cents.
Job growth surged in October and November after being held back in September by two hurricanes, although the October figure was revised down by 33,000 to 211,000. In December, construction and health care firms reported the strongest job gains, adding about 30,000 positions.
Economists have predicted slower job growth as the supply of people looking for work tightens. The unemployment rate of 4.1% is the lowest since 2000.
Kully Samra, UK managing director at Charles Schwab, said the job gains were disappointing but other data, including manufacturing and economic growth, provided a more positive picture.
"The US economy ended on a mixed note in 2017," he said.
In 2017, the US added 2.1 million jobs, compared to 2.2 million in 2016.
Construction and health care firms reported the strongest job gains in December, adding about 30,000 positions.
Employment in manufacturing - an industry President Donald Trump has targeted for growth - also grew by about 25,000.Employment in manufacturing - an industry President Donald Trump has targeted for growth - also grew by about 25,000.
But the losses in retail weighed on the final tally. That sector - which accounts for about 10% of jobs in the US - has been battered by the growth of online shopping and shifts in spending habits. But retail shed 20,300 jobs, weighing down the final tally. That sector - which accounts for a tenth of US jobs - has been battered by the growth of online shopping and shifts in spending habits.
Department stores such as Sears and Macy's closed hundreds of locations last year, and have announced plans for more closures. Department stores such as Sears and Macy's closed hundreds of outlets last year - with more to come.
Efforts to adjust the figures to account for seasonal hiring may also be affecting the numbers, analysts said.Efforts to adjust the figures to account for seasonal hiring may also be affecting the numbers, analysts said.
"Seasonal adjustment is always something to watch in this space, although we know that brick and mortar retail continues to retrench with more store closings and job losses on tap for the foreseeable future," said Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst for Bankrate.com. 'Supply issues'
The US added 2.1 million jobs in 2017, 100,000 fewer than 2016 and 600,000 down on the year before that.
Economists predict the number will be even less in 2018, amid the low unemployment rate and broader changes in the US workforce, including the aging of the large Baby Boom generation, which is starting to retire.
"We're running into some supply issues and the demographics aren't favourable," said Sarah House, a Wells Fargo economist.
"If you don't have that supply, that's going to influence really how many jobs you can actually end up creating."
The labour force participation rate - the share of the population working or looking for work - has barely budged in three years.
In December it was 62.7%, about 4 percentage points lower than in the 1990s when the US last experienced a similar streak of job increases.
Workers who left the workforce amid the recession have returned, counteracting other demographic shifts, said Gus Faucher, economist at PNC Bank.
"The slowing in job growth is completely expected," he said. "It's going to lead to slower long-run growth, but it's not going to lead to a recession."