292,000 New Jobs in December, Wages Up 2.5 Percent

The latest jobs numbers are out from the federal government. What do they mean for job seekers and employers? Here’s a quick take from Glassdoor’s Chief Economist Dr. Andrew Chamberlain: With a robust 292,000 new jobs created and the unemployment rate steady at 5.0 percent, today’s jobs report signals a U.S. economy with remarkably strong momentum that is likely to continue well into 2016. With today’s report, the U.S. economy closes out 2015 having created roughly 2.7 million new jobs—down from the 3.1 million jobs of the banner year of 2014, but stronger than any other year since the millennium. Slow wage growth has been a topic of debate throughout the current recovery, due in part to a well-documented shift from wages to benefits in recent years. Today, workers saw average hourly wages grow by 2.5 percent from one year ago—still somewhat below average, but part of a broader rising trend toward wage acceleration as the economy nudges toward full employment. Today’s biggest job gains were in professional and business services (+73,000 jobs) healthcare (+52,600 jobs), and construction (+45,000 jobs)—industries that are made up of well-paying occupations. By contrast, only two industries lost jobs in December: mining and logging (-8,000 jobs) and durable goods manufacturing (-6,000 jobs)—largely due to rock-bottom oil prices and the strong U.S. dollar. But many risks still loom on the horizon. The Fed has officially begun tightening monetary policy, a move with uncertain effects on jobs that won’t show up in the data for six to 18 months. China is rapidly slowing, recently devalued its currency, and has a stock market on the verge of meltdown. And Europe remains mired in slow growth. Following the Fed rate hike last month, many analysts are now watching jobs numbers closely for evidence about the pace of Fed moves going forward. Today’s overwhelmingly positive jobs report makes a continued Fed path toward higher interest rates much more likely in coming months—a move financial markets will be watching closely. To speak with Dr. Andrew Chamberlain about today’s jobs report or to discuss labor market trends, contact pr at Glassdoor dot com. For the latest economics and labor market updates, follow @adchamberlain on Twitter and subscribe to Glassdoor Economic Research.