- The most actively hiring sector was health care, which saw a whopping 70,000 increase in December jobs, nearly half of total. Most of the increase occured in ambulatory health care services (+30,000) and hospitals (+11,000). Social assistance added 20,000 jobs in December, reflecting job growth in individual and family services (+21,000).
- Professional and Busines Services rose by a total of 30,500, the second highest gaining category. here the biggest contributor was Administrative and Waste Services to Buildings and Dwellings, which rose by 10,600.
- Another minimum wage job category that added jobs in December was
Leisure and Hospitality, which added a grand total of 24,000 jobs. here, the biggest contributor was an old favorite: employment in food services and drinking places, which continued to trend up in December (+30,000). - What is curious is that while retailers have been laying off thousands of people left and right, according to the BLS this category added another 6,300 in December, if a substantial drop from November's 19,500.
- Highly paid construction jobs declined by 3,000 in December after posting a substantial rebound of 17,000 in November
- Just as troubling was the ongoing decline in Information jobs, which declined by 6,000 in December, after dropping double that amount in November
- Also concerning was the sharp drop in Temp Help services: a harbinger of pent up labor demand, this category tumbled by 15,500 in December, the biggest monthly decline in years.
- There was some good news for higher paying wages in December: Employment edged up in manufacturing (+17,000), with a gain of 15,000 in the durable goods component.
- Employment in the highly paid financial activities also continued on an upward trend in December (+13,000).
- Finally, government added an additional 12,000 jobs.
The visual summary is below:
