Staff Writer

Over the last six months, the national unemployment rate has bounced back and forth between 3.5 percent and 3.7 percent. In December, the national unemployment rate dropped to 3.5 percent, down 0.1 percent from the previous month. 

As the unemployment rate dropped, the number of total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 223,000 jobs. The largest gains were seen in the leisure and hospitality (67,000), health care (55,000), construction (28,000), and social assistance sectors (20,000). 

To read the full Bureau of Labor Statistics report go here.