By Tom Burnett CFA
On January 5, 2024, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the Employment Report for December 2023. The Report stated that total payroll employment rose by 216,000 jobs. The unemployment rate was unchanged from the prior month at 3.7%. Total nonfarm payroll employment is now 158.2 million. There were 6.3 million workers looking for jobs, less than the 8.8 million job openings in the latest openings report (Jan. 3, 2024). The economy added 2.7 million jobs in 2023, down from 4.8 million in 2022.
Average hourly payroll compensation rose $0.15 to $34.27, up by 4.1% from a year ago. Manufacturing employment was unchanged from the prior month.
The employment figures for October and November were revised downward by a combined 71,000 from previous reports.
The next Employment Report will be issued on February 2, 2024.
Tom Burnett CFA is Director of Research