Dec Nonfarm Payrolls +145k, Slightly Below..>

US DATA: Dec Nonfarm Payrolls +145k, Slightly Below Exp

------------------------------------------------------------

-Dec Nonfarm Payrolls +145K; Unemp Rate 3.5% V 3.5% In Nov

-Nov Jobs Rev +256K (Prev +266K); Oct +152K (+156K); Net -14K

-Dec Unrounded Unemployment Rate 3.4961% Vs Nov 3.5358%

-Dec Private Payrolls +139K Vs Nov +243K; Govt +6K Vs +13K

-Dec Avg Hourly Earnings +0.1% Vs Nov +0.3%; +2.9% Y/Y

-Dec Aggr Hrs Index +0.1%; Avg Workwk Unch At 34.3 Hrs

-Dec Labor Force Participation Rate 63.2% Vs 63.2% In Nov

------------------------------------------------------------

US nonfarm payrolls rose by 145k in December vs an expected 165k 

increase, with net revisions of -14k to the prior months, bringing the 

Q4 average to 184k and the Q3 average to 193k. The unemployment rate 

held steady at 3.5%, while U-6 dipped to 6.7% from 6.9% in November. 

Retail (+41k) and healthcare (+28k) led gains, while manufacturing 

payrolls fell by 12k. AHE increased 0.1% m/m in December, and 2.9% 

y/y. The labor force participation rate remains unchanged at 63.2%. The 

report includes revisions to household data back to January 2015 and 

establishment survey revisions will be released next month.