U.S. economy adds just 74,000 jobs in December

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch)
The U.S. added just 74,000 jobs in December to mark the smallest increase since the start of 2011, suggesting that the nation entered 2014 with less momentum than a raft of other economic indicators had signaled
The unemployment rate, meanwhile, fell to 6.7% from 7.0% - the lowest level since October 2008 - but the decline appeared to occur mainly because more people dropped out of the labor forcé
Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected an increase of 193,000 nonfarm jobs, with unemployment holding steady at 7.0% in December
Retailers posted the biggest increase in hiring in December, adding 55,000 jobs, and manufacturers also boosted employment, the Labor Department said Friday
Yet hiring was weak across most other sectors, reversing the broad gains seen in November. Average hourly wages, meanwhile, rose 2 cents to $24.17 while the average workweek dipped 0.1 hour to 34.4 hours
The civilian participation rate fell two ticks to 62.8%, matching a 35-year low
The employment gain in November, meanwhile, was bumped up to 241,000 from a first read of 203,000
October's gain was unchanged at 200,000
The U.S. ended the year adding roughly the same number of workers as it did in 2012, based on the preliminary numbers