Jobs report shows signs of a cooling economy — as well as its resiliency

The final jobs report of 2022 showed U.S. employment growth slowing under the weight of higher interest rates and stubborn inflation, but not enough to derail a historically strong labor market.

The U.S. added 223,000 jobs in December and brought the unemployment rate down to 3.5 percent, its level in February 2020, from 3.7 percent in November, according to the Labor Department.

While job growth slowed from November’s revised total of 256,000, December’s employment gain still came in above economists’ expectations—and without other warning signs of an overheating economy.