Figures from the US Department of Labor Friday showed that 155,000 jobs were added in December 2012, following 161,000 new jobs added in November. The unemployment rate remained unchanged in December at 7.8 percent after the November level was revised higher from the initial 7.7 percent reported last month.
US Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis said, "December's report marks 34 straight months of private sector job growth, which have added close to 5.8 million jobs. For nearly three years, steady gains have occurred across different sectors of the economy, and December finishes a strong year of consistent growth with average increases of about 160,000 private sector jobs per month in 2012."
Statistics Canada reported Friday that employment in the country rose by 40,000 in December, the fourth increase in five month, bringing the unemployment rate down 0.1 percentage points to 7.1 percent, the lowest in four years.