US: Employment surges in December

ANKARA

The U.S. economy saw employment surge in December, with the transportation and construction sectors on hiring sprees, according to the nonfarm payrolls report released by the Labor Department on Friday.

The economy added 292,000 jobs, well above the economist consensus forecast of 200,000, and up from 211,000 in November, the report said.

"The broad economy continues to recover steadily," commented James Glassman, head economist with JPMorgan Chase commercial banking in New York in a note published on Dec. 29.

Consumer spending is up fueling growth and higher employment, he said.

Employment figures for October and November were also revised higher: the number of jobs added in October job was revised up to 307,000 from 298,000, and the November figure was increased to 252,000 from 211,000, according to the report.

The unemployment remained was unchanged at 5 percent, the report said.

But workers' average hourly wages fell by $0.01 to $25.24 per hour. It was the first drop in wage growth in six months.

Construction showed strong job growth for the third consecutive month, gaining 45,000 jobs in December. Job gains occurred among specialty trade contractors (+29,000) and in construction of buildings (+10,000). Over the year, construction added 263,000 jobs, compared with a gain of 338,000 jobs in 2014.

Employment in transportation and warehousing rose by 23,000 in December, with a gain of 15,000 in couriers and messengers, the report said.

Employment in professional and business services increased by 73,000 in December, with temporary help services accounting for 34,000 of the gain. In 2015, professional and business services added 605,000 jobs, compared with a gain of 704,000 in 2014, according to the report.

The surge in employment is certain to be welcomed by hawks at the Federal Reserve who call for another interest rate hike after the one on Dec. 16. The currently largely dovish Fed is focused on the inflation outlook -- and inflation is still at 0.5 percent in the U.S. -- according to the minutes of the last monetary policy meeting on that date released on Jan. 7.