Go Obama!
Jobs Report Beats Expectations; Unemployment Rate Falls to 5.6%
December Employment Gain Caps Best Year for U.S. Since 1999
By Shobhana Chandra Jan 9, 2015 8:30 AM ET -
Employment rose more than forecast in December and the jobless rate declined to 5.6 percent, wrapping up the best year for the labor market since 1999 and adding to evidence the U.S. is a standout in the global economy.
The addition of 252,000 jobs followed a 353,000 rise the prior month that was more than previously estimated, a Labor Department report showed today in Washington. The jobless rate dropped the lowest level since June 2008. The report wasn’t all good news as earnings unexpectedly declined from a month earlier.
An additional 2.95 million Americans found work in 2014, the most in 15 years and a sign companies are optimistic U.S. demand will persist even as overseas markets struggle. The combination of job growth and cheaper gasoline will probably help stretch workers’ paychecks and sustain consumer spending.
“The labor market was on a tear going into 2015,” Jacob Oubina, a senior U.S. economist at RBC Capital Markets LLC in New York, said before the report. “It bodes well for the consumer and for the economy. The U.S. is growing at a decent clip and is more than likely to accelerate this year.”
Job growth was broad-based last month, highlighted by the biggest gain in construction employment in almost a year.
The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 240,000 advance in payrolls. Estimates of 99 economists ranged from gains of 160,000 to 305,000 after a previously reported 321,000 November increase.
Revisions to prior reports added a total of 50,000 jobs to overall payrolls in the previous two months.
more:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-09/december-employment-gain-caps-best-year-for-u-s-since-1999.html
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