AKIPRESS.COM - The US economy created many more jobs than expected in December, according to the latest government data.
Employers added 312,000 jobs, far ahead of predictions of 177,000, the Labor Department said.
The unemployment rate nudged higher to 3.9%, but is still near historic lows. Average hourly pay increased at an annual rate of 3.2% - an improvement on last month's 3.1%.
The gains sent US stocks soaring, reversing losses from Thursday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended Friday almost 3.3% higher. The S&P 500 rose 3.4%, while the Nasdaq jumped more than 4.2%.