US economy added 50K jobs in December as unemployment rate declines

Group 1 - The U.S. economy experienced modest job growth in December, with employers adding 50,000 jobs, which was below the expected 60,000 jobs [1] - The unemployment rate slightly declined to 4.4% in December, lower than the anticipated 4.5% [2] - Revisions to previous payroll numbers indicated that employment in October and November was 76,000 jobs lower than initially reported, with October's loss revised down by 68,000 jobs and November's gain revised down by 8,000 jobs [3] Group 2 - Private payrolls added 37,000 jobs in December, which was below the estimate of 64,000 jobs [3] - Government payrolls increased by 13,000 jobs in December, with local government adding 18,000 jobs and federal government adding 2,000 jobs, while state government employment declined by 7,000 jobs [4]