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In good news for the Amercian worker and business, employers not only increased hiring workers to end the year, but wages also increased nicely for 2006 as well. Unemployment reached a six-year low of 4.6 percent. Overall there were 167,000 new jobs added in December.

An AP report said that the biggest gains for last month were in architectural and engineering outfits, hospitals and doctors' offices, banks, computer design firms, bars and restaurants, hotels and motels, and schools. With the faltering automotive and housing sectors, the construction and manufacturing industries had job losses.
 
For the entire year, there were 1.8 million jobs added. The increase in jobs has helped to decrease 2005s 5.1% unemployment rate.

For wages, hourly pay increased to an average of $17.04 in December. That caps off a strong year that finished up by 4.2 percent for the year. The largest increase since 2000. Wages are now increasing faster than consumer prices which will be good for the economy with more disposable income available.
 
The down side to it is that if things continue to grow too fast, there are inflationary concerns that have to be watched closely. Otherwise it has been a good year for both business and workers.