US employers added a smaller-than-expected 108,000 new jobs in December but that followed a much stronger wave of hiring than previously thought in November when rebuilding after hurricanes was getting under way, a government report showed yesterday.

In its monthly report on employment, the labor department said the unemployment rate fell in December to 4.9 per cent from 5 per cent in November.

The December new-jobs total was well below Wall Street forecasts for 200,000 jobs. But it followed an upwardly revised 305,000 new jobs in November - the strongest hiring month since April 2004 - instead of 215,000 that the department reported a month ago.

US manufacturers hired 18,000 new employees in December on top of 8,000 in November and 13,000 in October - the first time since March-May 2004 that manufacturers have hired for three months in a row. But construction jobs declined by 9,000 last month, a reversal from November's 42,000-job addition.

Overall, the employment figures imply a relatively strong hiring outlook.