According to the BLS’ latest jobs report, more than 112 million Americans were employed within the private sector in December 2012, comprising nearly 84 percent of the nation’s working population.
In fact, despite a steady decline in public sector employment in 2012, private sector hiring continued to augment in December, rising for the 34th consecutive month.
A total of 168,000 new private sector jobs were created last month, as the following industries reported a rise in employment.
- Engineering and Architecture: The architectural and engineering services sector generated 3,800 new jobs in December, the highest monthly total since April. Throughout the last 12 months, sector hiring has increased by 33,900.
- Finance: For the 11th straight month, the sector reported a rise in hiring in December, while adding 9,000 new jobs to the national economy. In all, 7.8 million finance professionals were employed.
- Healthcare: After diminishing slightly in November, a month in which 20,000 jobs were created, sector hiring upturned in December, as 44,500 professionals were offered new employment opportunities. Since December 2011, 337,700 healthcare workers have been hired.
- Leisure and Hospitality: As usual, sector hiring remained robust in December, as the total number of employed leisure and hospitality workers rose to 13.8 million. In 2012, the sector added an average of 26,666 new jobs, per month, to the national economy.
- Manufacturing: As a surprise to national economic experts, sector hiring actually rebounded in December, as 25,000 jobs were added to the economy. From August to November, the sector lost an average of 25,000 jobs per month, leading some economists to anticipate a similar trend last month.
- Professional and Business Services: Sector hiring rose for the seventh successive month in December, as 19,000 new jobs were generated. Employment has increased by 472,000 since December 2011.
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