The U.S. Labor Department announced on Friday that nonfarm payrolls increased by 145,000 in December after a downwardly revised 256,000 gain in the prior month (originally an increase of 266,000). In 2019, payroll employment rose by 2.1 million, down from a gain of 2.7 million in 2018.

According to the report, significant job gains in December occurred in retail trade (+41,000 jobs) and health care (+28,000), while mining (-8,000) lost jobs.

The unemployment rate held at 3.5 percent in December.

Economists had forecast 166,000 new jobs and the jobless rate to stay at 3.5 percent.

The labor force participation rate was unchanged m-o-m at 63.2 percent in December, while hourly earnings for private-sector workers edged up 0.1 percent m-o-m (+3 cents) to $28.32, following a revised 0.3 percent m-o-m gain in November (originally an increase of 0.2 percent m-o-m). Economists had forecast a 0.3 percent m-o-m advance in the average hourly earnings. Over the year, average hourly earnings have increased by 2.9 percent, following an unrevised 3.1 percent rise in November.

The average workweek was 34.4 hours in December, up from downwardly revised 34.3 hours (originally 34.4 hours), matching economists' forecast.