The number of US temporary help services jobs rose by 14,700, according to seasonally adjusted numbers from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The temp penetration reached another new high of 2.13 percent.

However, the year-over-year growth rate in temporary jobs slowed to 7.81 in December from 8.52 percent in November.

Overall, the US added 252,000 nonfarm jobs in December. The unemployment rate fell to 5.6 percent in December from 5.8 percent in November. The college-level unemployment rate, which can serve as a proxy for professional employment, fell to 2.9 percent in December from 3.2 percent in November.

In 2014, job growth averaged 246,000 per month, compared with an average monthly gain of 194,000 in 2013. Bloomberg reports December’s employment gain caps the best year for the US since 1999; however, wage gains have lagged behind the pace of employment growth.

“The economy generated 252,000 new jobs in December, and the gains for November and October were revised up,” The Conference Board stated. “These strong gains are likely to continue to boost consumer spending in 2015. The continued drop in the unemployment rate, to 5.6 percent in December, puts us within striking distance of the natural rate of 5.5 percent. All the more reason to expect that the Fed will start raising rates in the first half of 2015. In such an environment we should expect to see acceleration in wage growth, but there is no evidence of that, yet, in the establishment survey.”

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