UPDATE - US adds 216,000 jobs in December, much higher than estimates

UPDATES WITH PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN'S COMMENTS

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - The US economy added 216,000 jobs in December, much higher than market estimates, the Labor Department announced on Friday.

The market expectation for nonfarm payrolls was to show a gain of 170,000 in December.

Job additions for November, on the other hand, were revised down by 26,000 from 199,000 to 173,000, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The unemployment rate, however, remained unchanged at 3.7% in December, compared to the previous month.

The market estimate for the figure was to come in at 3.8%.

Also, the number of unemployed people remained unchanged at 6.3 million, according to the Labor Department.

President Joe Biden later said American economy created 2.7 million new jobs in 2023, during when the unemployment rate was consistently below 4%.

"The strong job creation continued even as inflation fell to the pre-pandemic level of 2 percent over the last six months, and key prices have fallen over the last year—for a gallon of gas, a gallon of milk, toys, appliances, car rentals, and airline fares," he said in a statement released by the White House.

The president said some prices are still too high for many Americans, adding that his administration is working to lower everyday costs, "from bringing down the price of insulin, prescription drugs, and energy to addressing hidden junk fees companies use to rip you off."

He also called on large corporations to pass on savings to consumers as their costs moderate.