US Economy Added Only 74,000 Jobs in December

The U.S. economy added just 74,000 jobs in December, compared to a consensus estimate of 197,000, according to the U.S. Labor Department. Although it was the lowest number of monthly jobs added since January 2011, some economists said this is likely a temporary setback and bad weather may have hurt results.

The unemployment rate fell to 6.7 percent as more folks without jobs stopped looking for one. That unemployment rate is the lowest since October 2008.

What's more, although November's jobs total was increased to 241,000 from an initial 203,000 estimate, and October's report was unchanged at 200,000 -- for a net two-month gain of 38,000 -- that's not enough to take the sting out of December's very poor statistic.

Details to follow.