The US economy added 216,000 jobs in December, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Friday, blowing past expectations and capping off a year of resilience in the labor market.

The unemployment rate remained at 3.7%.

Economists were expecting net job gains of 160,000 for December and for the unemployment rate to tick up to 3.8%.

The U.S. labor market closed out 2023 in strong shape as the pace of hiring was even more powerful than expected, the Labor Department reported Friday.

December’s jobs report showed employers added 216,000 jobs for the month while the unemployment rate held at 3.7%. Payroll growth showed a sizeable gain from November’s downwardly revised 173,000. October also was revised lower, to 105,000 from 150,000, indicating a slightly less robust picture for growth in the fourth quarter.

U.S. job growth continued to chug along at a healthy pace in December, suggesting that the labor market remains resilient even in the face of higher interest rates, stubborn inflation and other economic uncertainties.

Employers added 216,000 jobs in December, the Labor Department said in its monthly payroll report released Friday. That was slightly above the 170,000 jobs forecast by Refinitiv economists.

The unemployment rate held steady at 3.7%.