US Unemployment Falls to Lowest Level in Nearly Three Years 5 tips to get your finances in order at the start of the year

Unemployment in the US fell surprisingly late last year, reaching its lowest level in nearly three years. The unemployment rate fell to 3.5 percent in December, the U.S. Department of Labor announced in Washington on Friday.

This is the lowest unemployment rate since February 2020, before the corona crisis caused a sharp rise in unemployment. Economists were surprised by the development. They had expected an average unemployment rate of 3.7 percent.

According to the department, 5.722 million Americans were unemployed in December, up from 6.0 million a month earlier.

employment increases

Conversely, the number of jobs increased. Outside agriculture, 223,000 jobs have been added, according to the ministry. On average, analysts had expected only 203,000 new jobs.

However, the increase in employment in the previous two months was adjusted downwards by a total of 28,000 jobs.

Wages rose less than expected in December. The average hourly wage increased month-on-month by 0.3 percent. Economists had expected an increase of 0.4 percent. For November, growth was revised down from 0.6 to 0.4 percent.

Compared to the same month last year, hourly wages rose by 4.6 percent in December. An increase of 5.0 percent was expected here.

Many American companies have long complained about a labor shortage, which has caused wages to rise noticeably. The increase is lagging behind the even higher inflation. (aeg/sda/awp/dpa)