BLS: December Jobs Report Below Expectations

While the December jobs report was a bit disappointing, it still represents the 85th consecutive month of job growth and left the unemployment rate unchanged.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) employment report for December was released on Friday. The total number of nonfarm jobs created was 148,000. October was revised down by 33,000 and November revised up by 24,000. Using a three-month moving average (3MMA), the December result was 204,000, up from 167,000 in November. The reason the 3MMA jumped so much was that the very low hurricane-driven result for September rolled out of the calculation.