The number of people employed part time for economic reasons, at 4.4 million, changed little in December
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. added 256,000 jobs in December and the unemployment rate changed little at 4.1%.
Employment trended up in:
- health care
- government
- social assistance
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for Whites (3.6%) edged down in December. The jobless rates for adult men (3.7%), adult women (3.8%), teenagers (12.4%), Blacks (6.1%), Asians (3.5%), and Hispanics (5.1%) changed little over the month.
Among the unemployed, the number of permanent job losers declined by 164,000 to 1.7 million in December but is little different from a year earlier. The number of people on temporary layoff, at 862,000, changed little over the month and over the year.
In December, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) changed little at 1.6 million but is up by 278,000 from a year earlier. The long-term unemployed accounted for 22.4% of all unemployed people in December.
The labor force participation rate, at 62.5%, was unchanged over the month and has remained in a narrow range of 62.5% to 62.7% since Dec. 2023. The employment-population ratio, at 60.0%, changed little over the month and over the year.
The number of people employed part time for economic reasons, at 4.4 million, changed little in December and is little different from a year earlier. These individuals would have preferred full-time employment but were working part time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs.
The number of people not in the labor force who currently want a job, at 5.5 million, was essentially unchanged in December. These individuals were not counted as unemployed because they were not actively looking for work during the four weeks preceding the survey or were unavailable to take a job.
Among those not in the labor force who wanted a job, the number of people marginally attached to the labor force, at 1.6 million, was virtually unchanged in December. These individuals wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months but had not looked for work in the four weeks preceding the survey.
The number of discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were available for them, changed little at 480,000 in December.
Other stories you may want to check out:
