steady job growth continues in us the us created fewer jobs than expected in december  but analysts said that the dip in hiring was not enough to derail the world s biggest economy.  according to labor department figures  157 000 new jobs were added last month. that took 2004 s total to 2.2 million  the best showing in five years. job creation was one of last year s main concerns for the us economy. while worries still remain  the conditions are set for steady growth in 2005  analysts said. the unemployment rate stayed at 5.4% in december  and about 200 000 jobs will need to be created each month if that figure is to drop.   it was a respectable report   said michael moran  analyst at daiwa securities.   payroll growth in december was a little lighter than the consensus forecast  but we had upward revisions to the prior two months and an increase in manufacturing employment.   manufacturing is a cyclical area of the economy and if it s showing job growth  it s a good indication that the economy is on a solid growth track.  that means that the federal reserve is likely to continue its policy of raising interest rates. the fed lifted borrowing costs five times last year to 2.25%  citing evidence the us economic recovery was becoming more robust.  job creation was one of last year s main concerns for the us economy  and proved to be a main topic of debate in the us presidential election. while demand for workers is far from booming  the conditions are set for steady growth.  overall  compared to the previous year it looks great  it just keeps going stronger and stronger and i expect that to be the case  in 2005  said kurt karl  economist at swiss re in new york. meanwhile  economists cautioned against reading too much into data from the federal reserve showing an unexpected $8.7bn drop in consumer debt in november. a fall in consumer spending  which makes up about two-thirds of all us economic activity  could help limit the extent of any future interest rate rises. but economists said there could be a number of reasons for a fall in the borrowing  which include credit cards and personal loans  while noting that such figures can vary on a month-to-month basis.