Manufacturing added almost 200,000 jobs last year, a turnaround from 2016, when it lost jobs.  Construction added 210,000 jobs in 2017.  Bars and restaurants hired about 250,000 waiters, cooks and hostesses.  Health care continued to lead the pack, adding 300,000 jobs in 2017.

There were weak spots, though: Retail stores lost 67,000 jobs last year after several years of robust gains. Traditional stores are struggling, and some going out of business altogether, as more people shop online.

The number of Americans who are working part-time but want a full-time job is about 5 million, still above where it was before the Great Recession began in late 2007.  That number has come down significantly since it peaked at 9.1 million in 2010. But these workers often are paid less, receive far fewer benefits like health care and are much more likely to live in poverty.

More broadly, the job market is shifting in a way that economists say helps explain why wage growth has been so sluggish.  Shortly after the recession, employers and hiring managers could pick and choose employees because unemployment was so high. Eight years later, with unemployment at 4.1%, workers have the upper hand.

A record share of small business employers, 54%, say they found few or no qualified job applicants in December, according to a report published Thursday by the National Federation of Independent Business, an advocacy group for small employers.

If that trend continues, more companies will be forced to raise wages in a meaningful way to compete for workers.

Labor Report Unemployment Data