After strong December, U.S. labor market on best run since late '90s

The U.S. economy added 292,000 jobs in December, well ahead of expectations, capping off the second best year of gains since 1999.

The unemployment rate held steady at 5 percent, the lowest since early 2008, the Labor Department reported on Friday.

Job growth for the year totaled 2.65 million after October and November were revised up by 50,000 jobs. That was slower than 2014’s expansion of more than 3.1 million new jobs.

The 5.75 million jobs created in the past two years represent the best streak for the labor market since the late 1990s.

Strong growth at the end of the year boosted the three-month average of jobs growth to 284,000, the fastest rate in a year.

The strength of the labor market is likely to figure prominently into President Obama's final State of the Union address on Tuesday.

In a video preview released by the White House on Wednesday, Obama said he has been thinking about how the nation has worked “to recover from crisis” and people’s” ability to change for the better."

“Not just the remarkable progress we’ve made, not just what I want to get done in the year ahead, but what we all need to do together in the years to come,” he said. "The big things that will guarantee an even stronger, better, more prosperous America for our kids — that’s what’s on my mind.”

The economy has added jobs for 63 straight months and appears on track to maintain that momentum in 2016, with some economists expecting that full employment will be reached by mid-year.