156,000 New Jobs Added in December

The US economy added 156,000 jobs in December according to the Bureau of Labor Statics' Friday released report. Over the last three months, job gains have averaged 165,000 per month and private-sector employment is on its longest streak of growth on record.

Over the month, employment edged up in manufacturing (+17,000), mostly in durable goods component (+15,000).

Additionally, in December, the hourly wages increased by $0.10, bringing the year-over-year wage percentage increase to 2.9% and the unemployment rate saw an increase to 4.7%.

Average weekly hours of production employees in manufacturing, seasonally adjusted: