By Paul Gomme and Peter Rupert
The BLS announced December employment on January 6 with another solid month that continues to show one of the strongest labor markets in recent history. Payroll employment increased 223,000 overall and 220,000 in the private sector.
The service sector provided the largest increase, 180,000. Temporary help services fell 35,000 after falling 30,300 and 22,300 in the previous two months. On the goods side, construction and durable goods employment came in strong up 28,000 and 24,000, respectively; although nondurable goods employment fell 16,000.
Average hours of work fell to 34.3 from 34.4. The increase in employment and decrease in average hours worked have opposing effects on total hours worked. In the event, the decline in average hours worked dominated as total hours of work dropped for the second straight month.
The household survey showed an increase in employment of 717,000, once again showing a marked difference from the establishment survey.
The labor force increased 439,000 leading to an increase in the participation rate to 62.3. Moreover, the number of unemployed persons fell by 278,000. These changes led to a fall in the unemployment rate to 3.5%.
Overall, the labor market continues to show considerable strength. Consequently, any discussion of a recession needs to focus on other parts of the economy.