U.S. payrolls increased by 216,000 in December, much better than expected

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December’s jobs report showed employers added 216,000 jobs for the month while the unemployment rate held at 3.7%. That compared with respective estimates of 170,000 and 3.8%.
The hiring boost came from a gain of 52,000 in government jobs and another 38,000 in health care-related fields such as ambulatory health-care services and hospitals.
Average hourly earnings rose 0.4% on the month and were up 4.1% from a year ago, both higher than the respective estimates for 0.3% and 3.9%.

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