The US unemployment rate fell to 9.4 percent in December, a 0.4 percent drop over the November unemployment rate. In November the unemployment rate had increased 0.2 percent from the previous month. Employers added 103, 000 new jobs last month, after adding only 39,000 jobs in November, and 172,000 in October.
During the whole of 2010, approximately 1.1 million jobs were added in the US, the largest number since 2006. The unemployment rate, however, averaged 9.6 percent-3 percent higher than 2009's average jobless rate.
Canadian employers added 22,000 jobs in December, keeping the unemployment rate 7.6 percent. In November, 15,200 new jobs were added to the workforce. The most notable employments increases in the country were in the manufacturing sector, while construction employment declined. Over the past twelve months, part-time employment has increased 3.4 percent, while full time employment is only up 1.9 percent.