WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. unemployment rate remained at a 17-year low of 4.1 percent, while job growth slowed in December amid decline in retail employment, the Labor Department said Friday.

The unemployment rate was 4.1 percent for the third consecutive month. The number of unemployed people, at 6.6 million, was essentially unchanged over the month. Over the year, the unemployment rate and the number of unemployed people were down by 0.6 percentage point and 926,000 respectively, the Labor Department said.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 148,000 last month, slightly below market expectations. Retail payrolls fell by 20,300, the largest drop since March, despite a strong holiday shopping season.

For 2017, the U.S. economy created 2.1 million jobs, less than the 2.2 million added in 2016, said the Labor Department. Job growth could slow further in 2018 as the U.S. labor market has reached full employment.