By Tom Burnett CFA
On January 6, 2023, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the employment data for December 2022. Job totals rose by 223,000 from the prior month. Total nonfarm employment now stands at 153.7 million, a post-Covid high. The unemployment rate is now 3.5%, down from 3.7% in the previous month. That rate has fluctuated between 3.5% and 3.7% for the past nine months. Job growth in the 2022 year was 4.5 million, following an increase of 6.7 million in 2021. The number of workers seeking jobs was 5.7 million, down slightly from the prior month. By comparison, the latest (January 4, 2023) BLS report on job openings disclosed an openings figure of 10.5 million, unchanged from the prior month. Revisions to the October and November reports lowered employment by a total of 28,000 jobs.
Manufacturing jobs increased by 8,000, bringing the average 2022 monthly gain to 32,000, compared with an average monthly gain of 30,000 in 2021.
Average hourly earnings rose 4.6% from the previous year, a smaller increase than shown in October and November. The latest figure for nonfarm payrolls is now $32.82 for hourly compensation.
The next Employment report will be issued on February 3, 2023.
Tom Burnett CFA is Director of Research