US economy added 256,000 jobs in December, unemployment rate drops slightly to 4.1%

The U.S. economy in December added 256,000 jobs in December, and the unemployment rate was 4.1%, the Labor Department reported Friday. 

The number of new jobs was higher than the 212,000 added in November 2024, the department's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. 

The unemployment rate was 4.2% in November. 

The bureau in its report pointed out that the unemploymenrt rate after having increasingly earlier this year has been at either 4.1% or 4.2% for the past seven months.