Number of unemployed holds steady

Non-farm payroll employment edged down (-85,000) in December, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 10 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.

Employment fell in construction, manufacturing and wholesale trade, while temporary help services and healthcare added jobs.

Both the number of unemployed persons, at 15.3 million, and the unemployment rate, at 10 percent, were unchanged. At the start of the recession in Dec. 2007, the number of unemployed persons was 7.7 million, and the unemployment rate was 5 percent.