Nearly all major industries added jobs in 2012 for the second year in a row. The biggest gain occurred in professional and business services, a catch-all category that is made up of mostly high-paying jobs such as accountants, information technology workers, and management.

On the downside, about one-third of the job gains in that category came from temporary workers, which rarely have benefits and are typically lower paid.

All but two broad industries tracked by the Labor Department showed gains. The two that shed jobs were government and information. State and local governments have been cutting jobs for the past three years.

The information category, which includes broadcasting and data processing services, has been dragged down by losses in telecommunications and publishing.

Manufacturers added jobs for the third straight year, after shedding positions for 12 years in a row.

Still, there are still almost 1.8 million fewer manufacturing jobs in the United States than five years ago.