The unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percent to 9.4 percent in Dec. 2010, with nonfarm payroll employment increasing by 103,000, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Healthcare was a significant contributor to the improvement, with an overall gain in the industry of 36,000 jobs for the month. Ambulatory services added 21,000 positions, hospitals added 8,000 jobs while nursing and residential care facilities added 7,000.
Other industries seeing notable gains included leisure and hospitality and, within professional and business services, employment in temporary help services continued to trend up, adding 16,000 jobs for the month and almost half a million since a recent low in Sept. 2009.
Manufacturing employment added 10,000 positions while construction jobs declined 16,000 jobs.
Read the BLS report about December employment.