Employers added 223,000 jobs in December 2022, capping a year marked by record low unemployment and high job growth. The unemployment rate fell to 3.5% with a slight increase in the labor force participation rate and employment rate, according to new data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The private sector industries slowest to recover from the pandemic continue to drive job growth. Leisure and hospitality services accounted for 30% of job growth this month, and yet employment in the sector continues to be 5.5% below February 2020 levels, say University of Michigan economic researchers Betsey Stevenson and Benny Docter. Similarly, health and social services such as child care and nursing care have been slow to fully recover and both have shown ongoing strong growth in recent months.
"Data on hiring and employment continues to highlight the strength of the economy and makes it clear that economic growth in the wake of the pandemic is continuing. Fears that we are in a recession are unwarranted," said Stevenson, an economist and professor of public policy at U-M's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.
Average monthly job growth for 2022 was the second highest in history
