U.S. Adds Stronger-Than-Expected 312,000 Jobs; Unemployment Rises To 3.9 Percent

Worker Kelly Coman inspects an F-150 pickup on the assembly line at a Ford plant in Dearborn, Mich. Some indicators point to a slowdown in the manufacturing sector

Carlos Osorio / AP

Updated at 4:07 p.m. ET

The markets have been a mess, but companies are still hiring — a lot.

The economy ended the year by adding a much-stronger-than-expected 312,000 jobs in December — the biggest gain in 10 months, the Labor Department said Friday.