The monthly survey of employers, which does not include the people who are self-employed in the six-county metro area, reported the drop from November to December.
The labor department said there were 206,400 jobs in December, down from 207,200 in November. The metro area lost 300 jobs in retail and 200 in professional and business services. There were also slight declines in state government, education and manufacturing, with slight gains in local government and transportation.
Compared with December 2011, the metro area had 2,100 fewer jobs.
