The 103,000 payroll jobs added was below expectations of 150,000 jobs, however payroll for November was revised up 70,000 and the October payroll was revised up 38,000, both good trends.
The increase in the long term unemployed is an ongoing concern. The average workweek was steady at 34.3 hours, and average hourly earnings ticked up 3 cents.
The following graph shows the employment population ratio, the participation rate, and the unemployment rate.
Click on graph for larger image.The unemployment rate decreased to 9.4% (red line).
The Labor Force Participation Rate declined to 64.3% in December (blue line). This is the lowest level since the early '80s. (This is the percentage of the working age population in the labor force. The participation rate is well below the 66% to 67% rate that was normal over the last 20 years.)
The Employment-Population ratio increased to 58.3% in December (black line).
Hopefully, the employment pictures begins to improve as we progress through the year. Employment growth of 250,000 to 300,000 will be needed to really begin to bring the unemployment rate down.
