Payrolls Rise by 108,000; Unemployment Rate Drops to 4.9%

.S. payrolls rose by 108,000 jobs in December and the nation’s unemployment rate fell to 4.9% from 5% the previous month, the Labor Department reported Friday.

The jobs gain was below analysts’ forecasts of the economy adding 200,000 more jobs in December, Bloomberg reported.

November’s jobs increase of 305,000 was revised upward from an originally reported 215,000 jobs, Labor said.

Because employment levels drive so much economic activity, an increase in employment can help consumer confidence and spending patterns, which affect trucking demand.

Manufacturing employment rose by 18,000 jobs, the most since August 2004. Economists had forecast no change in manufacturing employment, Bloomberg reported.

Service-industry employment, which includes retailers, banks and government agencies, rose by 96,000 following a 252,000 gain in November.

etailer employment fell by 15,600 jobs, after rising by 12,700 in November. Construction employment, which had surged in October November following the hurricanes, fell by 9,000, Labor said, the biggest drop since February 2003.

The manufacturing workweek fell to 40.7 hours from 40.8 hours, and overtime fell held at 4.5 hours.