- U.S. Added 256,000 Jobs in December, Unemployment Fell to 4.1%
- McDonald’s Rolls Back on Some Diversity Practices
- JPMorgan Employees May Return to Office Five Days a Week
- Paychex to Acquire Paycor in $4.1 Billion Deal
- Utah Ski Patrollers Reach Deal, End Strike
- U.S. Dockworkers, Port Employers Restart Contract Talks
U.S. Added 256,000 Jobs in December, Unemployment Fell to 4.1%
United States nonfarm payroll employment increased by 256,000 in December, far higher than forecast, while the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 4.1%. This is according to a data report released Friday, Jan. 10, by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Economists had predicted 165,000 new jobs during the month, a drop from the 212,000 jobs added in November. Some also anticipated a slightly higher unemployment rate. Instead, the BLS numbers showed the best one-month job gain since March 2023 and a jobless rate that was a tick under the 4.2% figure posted for November.
Payroll employment rose by 2.2 million in 2024 (an average monthly gain of 186,000), less than the increase of 3.0 million in 2023 (an average monthly gain of 251,000).
Breaking the report down by industry sector:
- Healthcare added 46,000 jobs in December, with gains in home healthcare services (+15,000), nursing and residential care facilities (+14,000), and hospitals (+12,000). The sector added an average of 57,000 jobs per month in 2024, the same as the average monthly gain in 2023.
- Retail trade added 43,000 jobs, following a loss of 29,000 jobs in November. In December, employment increased in clothing, clothing accessories, shoe and jewelry retailers (+23,000); general merchandise retailers (+13,000); and health and personal care retailers (+7,000). Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers lost jobs (-11,000). Overall, employment changed little in 2024, following an average monthly increase of 10,000 in 2023.
- Government employment continued to trend up in December (+33,000). The sector added an average of 37,000 jobs per month in 2024, below the average monthly gain of 59,000 in 2023. Over the month, employment continued to trend up in state government (+10,000).
- Employment in social assistance increased by 23,000 in December, mostly in individual and family services (+17,000). The sector added an average of 18,000 jobs per month in 2024, below the average increase of 23,000 per month in 2023.
- Employment in leisure and hospitality changed little in December (+43,000). The sector added an average of 24,000 jobs per month in 2024, about half the average monthly gain of 47,000 in 2023.
Employment showed little change over the month in other major industries, including mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; construction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; transportation and warehousing; information; financial activities; professional and business services; and other services.
In December, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 10 cents, or 0.3%, to $35.69. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.9%. In December, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees, at $30.62, were little changed (+6 cents).
In December, the average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was 34.3 hours for the fifth month in a row. In manufacturing, the average workweek was little changed at 40.0 hours, and overtime edged down by 0.1 hour to 2.8 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls remained at 33.7 hours.
McDonald’s Rolls Back on Some Diversity Practices
As reported by the Associated Press, McDonald’s is the latest big company to end some of its diversity practices.
On Monday, Jan. 6, the company announced it will retire specific goals for achieving diversity at senior leadership levels. It also intends to end a program that encourages its suppliers to develop diversity training and to increase the number of minority group members represented within their own leadership ranks, and it will pause external surveys.
McDonald’s stated the U.S. Supreme Court decision that outlawed affirmative action in college admissions and the “shifting legal landscape” caused it to take a hard look at its own policies.
Despite the rollback, McDonald’s reported 30% of its U.S. leaders are members of underrepresented groups, up from 29% in 2021; it achieved gender pay equity at all levels of the company; and it met its goal of having 25% of total supplier spending go to diverse-owned businesses.
JPMorgan May End Hybrid-Work Option
JPMorgan Chase & Co. may be calling all its employees to return to the office five days a week, according to Bloomberg News.
The largest U.S. bank, which employs more than 300,000 people globally, is preparing to end the hybrid-work option, which currently allows workers to come in the office three days a week.
In April 2023, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon called all of the bank’s managing directors back to the office five days a week. About 60% of the bank’s staff — including many traders and retail branch workers — already operate under that requirement.
Paychex to Acquire Paycor in $4.1 Billion Deal
HR technology and advisory solutions company Paychex announced Tuesday, Jan. 7, it has agreed to acquire payroll processing company Paycor HCM in an all-cash deal worth approximately $4.1 billion. Both companies’ boards of directors unanimously approved the transaction.
Paycor has approximately 2,900 employees, serves nearly 50,000 clients and supports approximately 2.7 million U.S. workers. Paychex serves nearly 750,000 customers in the U.S. and Europe and pays one out of every 12 American private-sector workers.
Analysts say Paycor’s investments in data, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies made it an attractive acquisition target.
Utah Ski Patrollers Reach Deal, End Strike
Ski patrollers at Park City Mountain Resort reached a tentative deal on Wednesday, Jan. 8, with the corporate owner of Utah’s Park City Mountain Resort, ending a strike that began Dec. 27.
Although details weren’t released about the agreement, the Park City Professional Ski Patrollers Association was seeking an increase in wage rates, a higher longevity pay for more senior workers, a longer contract than the two-year deals it had worked under in the past, and improved benefits and educational opportunities.
Sarah Huey, spokesperson for Vail Resorts, said management already raised ski patrol wages 50% over the past four years and that it now pays an average of $25 an hour. It is offering the union about a 4% raise in current negotiations, Huey said. But that would come out to a raise of just $1 an hour. The union said that was not enough given the cost of living in and around the Park City area.
U.S. Dockworkers, Port Employers Restart Contract Talks
Contract talks resumed Tuesday, Jan. 7, between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance, according to a report by Reuters. This time, the discussion is related to automation at port terminals.
Both parties signed a tentative deal in October, which gave workers a 62% wage hike over six years, to end a three-day strike but left issues related to automation unresolved. If an agreement is not reached by Jan. 15, another coast-wide strike at U.S. East and Gulf coast ports could occur.
The ILA represents more than 45,000 dockworkers.
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