If you’re getting ready to transition from the military to the civilian work force, this morning’s unemployment report for December 2011 offers some hints at where the jobs are.

The unemployment rate dropped to 8.5 percent in December, the Labor Department reported, down from 8.6 percent in November. The private sector added 212,000 jobs in December, and over the last 12 months 1.6 million non-farm jobs were added to the economy.

Here are some tidbits from the December report that might be of interest:

·  Employment in transportation and warehousing rose sharply in December (+50,000). Almost all of the gain occurred in the couriers and messengers industry (+42,000).

·  In December, manufacturing employment expanded by 23,000, following four months of little change. Employment increased in December in transportation equipment (+9,000), fabricated metals (+6,000), and machinery (+5,000).

·  Retail trade added 28,000 jobs in December. Employment in the industry has increased by 240,000 over the past 12 months.

·  Mining employment rose by 7,000 over the month. Over the year, mining added 89,000 jobs.

·  Health care continued to add jobs in December (+23,000); employment in hospitals increased by 10,000. Over the year, health care employment has risen by 315,000.

·  Construction employment changed little in December. Within the industry, nonresidential specialty trade contractors added 20,000 jobs over the month, mostly offsetting losses over the prior two months.

·  Employment in professional and business services changed little in December for the second month in a row. The industry added 42,000 jobs per month, on average, during the first 10 months of 2011.

·  Government employment changed little in December, but was down by 280,000 over the year. Job losses in 2011 occurred in local government, state government (excluding education) and the U.S. Postal Service.