While overall employment gains were slightly disappointing in December, there were strong job increases in the retail, hospitality and leisure services industries as employers looked to boost payrolls during the peak holiday season. The government reported Friday that payrolls increased by 145,000, falling short of the 160,000 estimate economists polled by Dow Jones had forecast. The unemployment rate held steady at a low 3.5%, matching a 2019 level that at the time was the lowest since 1969. CNBC studied the net changes by industry for December jobs based on data from the Labor Department contained in the employment ... (full story)