WASHINGTON (NEWSnet/AP) — The nation’s employers added 216,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department says, a sign that the American job market remains resilient even in despite high interest rates.

Friday’s report showed that December’s job gain exceeded the 173,000 that were added in November. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.7% — the 23rd straight month that joblessness has remained below 4%.

That being said, the average hourly wages rose 4.1% from a year earlier, up from a 4% gain in November, which could make it harder for the Fed to slow inflation.

“Today’s report speaks to the bumpy road ahead for the Fed’s journey back to 2% inflation,″ said Andrew Patterson, senior international economist at Vanguard.

And the proportion of people who either have a job or are looking for one fell to 62.5%, the lowest level since February. The Fed prefers having more people in the labor force to help ease pressure on companies to sharply boost pay to attract or retain workers and to then pass those high labor costs on to consumers by raising prices.

Despite the low unemployment and cooling inflation, polls show that many Americans are dissatisfied with the economy.

A key factor is the public’s exasperation with higher prices. Though inflation has been falling more or less steadily for a year and a half, prices are still 17% higher than they were before the inflation surge began.

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