ISTANBUL

The US economy added 50,000 jobs in December, below market expectations, according to data from the Labor Department released on Friday.

It followed November's downwardly revised 56,000 gain, while the market expectation for nonfarm payrolls last month was set to show a gain of 66,000.

"Employment continued to trend up in food services and drinking places, health care, and social assistance. Retail trade lost jobs," the department said.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate was down to 4.4% in December from 4.5% in November, below forecasts.

The number of unemployed people "changed little" at 7.5 million in December, while the labor force participation rate was at 62.4%.

Meanwhile, the employment-to-population ratio was stable at 59.7% in the same month, according to the Labor Department.

The number of people not in the labor force but currently wanting a job in December was also little changed at 6.2 million.

"These individuals were not counted as unemployed because they were not actively looking for work during the 4 weeks preceding the survey or were unavailable to take a job," it said.

The average hourly earnings for all employees on non-farm payrolls rose 0.3% to $37.02 in December, compared to November, while it was up by 3.8% on an annual basis.