U.S. Labor Department figures show that with employers having added 155,000 jobs in December, a steady gain in work existed in spite of the tense fiscal cliff negotiations that have occurred in Washington.
According to the Department, while the unemployment rate remained at 7.8 percent last month, there was a slight revision November's rate which was revised from the 7.7 percent that was initially reported.
Most of the additional hiring has been in manufacturing and construction. Over the last nine months, 25,000 jobs were gained in manufacturing, and with 30,000 construction jobs added in the last 15 months, it's likely that the need to build new homes or to rebuild dwellings lost or damaged in catastrophic storms have been a contributing factor.
Overall, the labor report shows that although some worries about the fiscal cliff have been eased, the economy continues to struggle to gain momentum.
