December 2016 saw an uptick in the number of employed Americans, with the healthcare sector hiring thousands of new employees last month, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Here are four statistics on employment in December:
1. Healthcare employment increased by 43,000. Of this figure, ambulatory services constituted more than 30,000 people and hospitals accounted for more than 11,000.
2. Social assistance employment increased by 20,000.
3. The financial activity sector added 13,000 jobs last month, which is on par with the average monthly gains in this area for the past two years.
4. The average workweek for employees across all industries remained the same at 34.3 hours.