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Nonfarm employment rose 145,000 in December 2019 and 2.1 million for all of 2019

January 14, 2020

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 145,000 in December 2019. In 2019, payroll employment rose by 2.1 million, down from a gain of 2.7 million in 2018. In December, notable job gains occurred in retail trade and health care, while mining and logging lost jobs.

Monthly change in nonfarm payroll employment, seasonally adjusted, January 2014 to December 2019
Month 1-month change Average monthly change for the year

Jan 2014

177,000 251,000

Feb 2014

168,000 251,000

Mar 2014

250,000 251,000

Apr 2014

327,000 251,000

May 2014

221,000 251,000

Jun 2014

324,000 251,000

Jul 2014

227,000 251,000

Aug 2014

188,000 251,000

Sep 2014

311,000 251,000

Oct 2014

258,000 251,000

Nov 2014

286,000 251,000

Dec 2014

269,000 251,000

Jan 2015

213,000 227,000

Feb 2015

248,000 227,000

Mar 2015

77,000 227,000

Apr 2015

300,000 227,000

May 2015

319,000 227,000

Jun 2015

170,000 227,000

Jul 2015

293,000 227,000

Aug 2015

122,000 227,000

Sep 2015

133,000 227,000

Oct 2015

339,000 227,000

Nov 2015

235,000 227,000

Dec 2015

280,000 227,000

Jan 2016

90,000 193,000

Feb 2016

232,000 193,000

Mar 2016

234,000 193,000

Apr 2016

211,000 193,000

May 2016

15,000 193,000

Jun 2016

282,000 193,000

Jul 2016

336,000 193,000

Aug 2016

135,000 193,000

Sep 2016

270,000 193,000

Oct 2016

128,000 193,000

Nov 2016

170,000 193,000

Dec 2016

215,000 193,000

Jan 2017

252,000 179,000

Feb 2017

141,000 179,000

Mar 2017

127,000 179,000

Apr 2017

213,000 179,000

May 2017

128,000 179,000

Jun 2017

229,000 179,000

Jul 2017

204,000 179,000

Aug 2017

187,000 179,000

Sep 2017

18,000 179,000

Oct 2017

260,000 179,000

Nov 2017

220,000 179,000

Dec 2017

174,000 179,000

Jan 2018

171,000 223,000

Feb 2018

330,000 223,000

Mar 2018

182,000 223,000

Apr 2018

196,000 223,000

May 2018

270,000 223,000

Jun 2018

262,000 223,000

Jul 2018

178,000 223,000

Aug 2018

282,000 223,000

Sep 2018

108,000 223,000

Oct 2018

277,000 223,000

Nov 2018

196,000 223,000

Dec 2018

227,000 223,000

Jan 2019

312,000 176,000

Feb 2019

56,000 176,000

Mar 2019

153,000 176,000

Apr 2019

216,000 176,000

May 2019

62,000 176,000

Jun 2019

178,000 176,000

Jul 2019

166,000 176,000

Aug 2019

219,000 176,000

Sep 2019

193,000 176,000

Oct 2019

152,000 176,000

Nov 2019[p]

256,000 176,000

Dec 2019[p]

145,000 176,000

[p] Preliminary

In December, retail trade added 41,000 jobs. Employment increased in clothing and accessories stores (+33,000) and in building material and garden supply stores (+7,000); both industries showed employment declines in the prior month. Employment in retail trade changed little, on net, in both 2019 (+9,000) and 2018 (+14,000).

Employment change by industry, December 2019, seasonally adjusted
Industry 1-month net change 12-month net change

Mining and logging

-9,000 -21,000

Construction

20,000 151,000

Manufacturing

-12,000 46,000

Wholesale trade

8,300 61,900

Retail trade

41,200 8,500

Transportation and warehousing

-10,400 57,100

Utilities

800 -2,400

Information

3,000 12,000

Financial activities

6,000 122,000

Professional and business services

10,000 397,000

Education and health services

36,000 647,000

Leisure and hospitality

40,000 388,000

Other services

5,000 80,000

Government

6,000 161,000

Employment in health care increased by 28,000 in December. Ambulatory health care services (+23,000) and hospitals (+9,000) added jobs over the month. Health care added 399,000 jobs in 2019, compared with an increase of 350,000 in 2018.

Mining and logging employment declined by 9,000 in December. In 2019, employment in mining and logging declined by 21,000, after rising by 60,000 in 2018.

Construction employment changed little in December (+20,000). Employment in the industry rose by 151,000 in 2019, about half of the 2018 gain of 307,000.

Manufacturing employment was little changed in December (-12,000). Employment in the industry changed little in 2019 (+46,000), after increasing in 2018 (+264,000).

These data are from the Current Employment Statistics program. Data for the most recent 2 months are preliminary. To learn more, see "The Employment Situation — December 2019." We also have more charts on nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Nonfarm employment rose 145,000 in December 2019 and 2.1 million for all of 2019 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2020/nonfarm-employment-rose-145000-in-december-2019-and-2-point-1-million-for-all-of-2019.htm (visited October 31, 2024).

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