2013 ends with weakest job growth in years
By Annalyn Kurtz @AnnalynKurtz January 10, 2014: 11:13 AM ET
Ouch! The job market suddenly looks a lot weaker than economists’ had thought.
Hiring slumped sharply in December, as the economy added only 74,000 jobs, according to the government. This was the weakest month for job growth since January 2011 and came as a huge surprise to economists, who were expecting an addition of 193,000 jobs.
For all of 2013, the economy added 2.2 million jobs — on par with 2012’s gains.
Some economists believe December’s weak job gains could be a fluke, given other solid data recently. They expect the government to revise the numbers higher in the months ahead.
“Just about every other measure of job growth suggests that employers are either hiring or intending to hire, extending hours and laying off fewer people,” said Tim Hopper, chief economist for TIAA-CREF.
https://money.cnn.com/2014/01/10/news/economy/december-jobs-report/index.html