Best December Job Gains Since Recession

With 2018 behind us, the preliminary job performance for the year is coming into full focus with the release of the December job numbers today. Preliminary numbers suggest that this has been the best December for job gains since the height of the recession. Over 312,000 jobs were added to the economy last month. Analysts expected only about 180,000 new jobs for December.

The unemployment rate rose to 3.9 percent this month. Despite the slight uptick in the unemployment rate, unemployment is down year-over-year with unemployment last year hovering around 4 percent. The health care, food service, construction, manufacturing, and retail trade industries experienced notable job gains, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.