Statement by US Secretary of Labor Walsh on December Jobs Report

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh issued the following statement on the December 2022 Employment Situation Report:

“Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the American economy added 223,000 jobs in the month of December, and the unemployment rate fell to a historically low 3.5 percent while more people entered the workforce.

“Since December 2021, the economy has added 4.5 million jobs, for a total of more than 10.7 million jobs since the President took office and the most jobs added in any two-year period on record. With significant gains in health care, leisure and hospitality, and construction jobs, we rounded out 2022 with more of the steady, stable growth that helped our workforce recover from the COVID pandemic and has empowered workers to take on new opportunities.

“We begin 2023 positioned to sustain this worker-centered progress, as the administration’s infrastructure investments and the resurgence of American manufacturing continue to create good jobs across the country. With the Inflation Reduction Act going into effect, health insurance and prescription drug costs are lower for millions of families, small business owners, and retirees; and clean energy incentives will further lower household costs and create good jobs for years to come.

“At the Department of Labor, through our Good Jobs Initiative and more, we are focused on ensuring that all working people have the skills, supports, protections and opportunities they need to thrive in this economy.”