U.S. job growth increased briskly in December, but wages unexpectedly fell in a sign the tightening labor market has yet to give much of a boost to workers, Reuters reported. Nonfarm payrolls increased 252,000 last month after an upwardly revised jump of 353,000 in November, the Labor Department said on Friday. The jobless rate fell 0.2 percentage point to a 6-1/2-year low of 5.6 percent, but that was mainly because people left the labor force. The drop in labor participation and a five-cent, or 0.2 percent, decrease in average hourly earnings, which nearly erased November's gains, took some shine off the otherwise upbeat report. December marked the 11th straight month of payroll increases above 200,000, the longest stretch since 1994. For last year as a whole, the economy generated 2.95 million new jobs, the strongest annual showing since 1999. What comes as a puzzle is the softness in earnings. Some economists wondered whether last month's broad-based fall, which was led by a record 1.2 percent plunge in the retail trade sector, was a seasonal fluke that would be revised away. -- SPA 22:38 LOCAL TIME 19:38 GMT تغريد
