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For the amount of new jobs in December, Economists predicted a much higher figure than what actually came true.

With 157,000 new jobs in December as opposed to the predicted number of 175,000, there was still a total of 2.2 million new jobs created in 2004. This was a huge improvement over 2003, which saw a loss of 61,000 jobs. There were more job gains in 2004, than any other year since 1999.

19,600 retail jobs were lost in December, but other categories such as health care, wholesale trade, financial and business services saw job growth.

A New York Times article says,

"The figures come on the heels of reports from retailers indicating a mixed record of success during the holiday season. Retail sales rose 3.1 percent in sales compared to the year before, but only after many merchants marked down a substantial portion of their inventories just before Christmas.

Economists were watching today's figures particularly closely for their potential impact on the Federal Reserve, which has been gradually raising interest rates as the economy has improved. Notes released this week from last month's closed-door meeting of its Federal Open Market Committee, which sets short-term interest rates, showed a greater level of concern about inflation than had been indicated in its public statements."

Let's hope that December is not a prelude to a year with lower job numbers.

Chris is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest ebusiness news.