Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 292,000 in December. Analysts were anticipating smaller incline by 203,000.Employment rose in several industries, including professional and business services, construction, health care, and food services and drinking places. Mining employment continued to decline. In 2015, payroll employment growth totaled 2.7 million, compared with 3.1 million in 2014.
The number of unemployed persons, at 7.9 million, was essentially unchanged in December, and the unemployment rate was 5.0 percent for the third month in a row. This was in line with market forecasts. Over the past 12 months, the unemployment rate and the number of unemployed persons were down by 0.6 percentage point and 800,000, respectively.
Euro is currently being traded few points above 1.08 level, Sterling is around 1.4560 handle, while Aussie is above 0.70 area.