Hiring picked up as employers added 216,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said Friday. The unemployment rate held at 3.7%

Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal estimated that employers added 170,000 jobs in December, a pullback from November’s gain, which was aided by the return of auto workers who had been on strike. The annual job gain is set to slow for the second straight year in 2023, though it remained above prepandemic levels.