December Jobs Report: 200,000 Jobs Added, Unemployment Down to 8.5%

December is the 6th straight month that more than 100,000+ jobs were netted.

Photo by Flickr user photologue_np

Slow and steady progress.

In a better-than-expected monthly jobs report released this morning by the Labor dept,  the U.S. economy saw an increase of 200,000 jobs, while the unemployment rate dipped slightly to 8.5%.

Despite today’s positive news, GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney continued to hammer President Obama. Campaigning this morning in Conway, SC alongside South Carolina governor Nikki Haley and AZ senator John McCain, Romney charged “remember [president Obama] was early in his administration, he said ‘look if you let me borrow 787 billion dollars, well I’ll be able to keep unemployment from going above 8%.‘ Well it went past 8% and hasn’t been back since! 3 years later!”

The AP and other outlets had already reported that this past December capped a 2011 which saw more growth in the economy that hadn’t been seen, by some measures, in over 5 years. Let’s hope for more news like this in the months to come. Read an in-depth analysis of the numbers over at Reuters or the official statement from Department of Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis here.