2 million new jobs were created in 2017 with a 4.1% unemployment rate capping a record year of growth for the U.S. economy, the December 2017 jobs report confirms.
Job growth slowed modestly in 2017. But for annual pace to remain above 2 million at this point in the cycle is pretty remarkable. pic.twitter.com/f7io6qFfYU
— Ben Casselman (@bencasselman) January 5, 2018
December saw an additional 148,000 jobs added, modestly missing expectations. Chris Rugaber of the Associated Press noted that it is the smallest number of jobs added in years largely because there are simply not as many unemployed people to hire.
Employers added 2.1 million jobs in 2017, enough to lower unemployment rate 0.6 ppts. Smallest number of jobs since 2010, as employers have fewer unemployed to hire. #JobsReport
— Chris Rugaber (@ChrisRugaber) January 5, 2018
The 2 million number tracks with predictions by Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta in a late December roundtable attended by The Daily Caller.
“However you ever look at it we’ve created a lot of new jobs,” Acosta declared, adding that the drop in the unemployment rate to 4.1 percent and the Federal Reserve’s forecast of unemployment in 2018 falling even lower, which would make it “the lowest unemployment rate since the 60s.”
The Dow Jones industrial average also hit a new high Thursday closing above 25,000 points.
Dow just crashes through 25,000. Congrats! Big cuts in unnecessary regulations continuing.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2018