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Job growth was much stronger than expected in December, possibly giving the Federal Reserve less incentive to cut interest rates this year.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 256,000 in the month, compared to 212,000 in November and above the 155,000 expected by the Dow Jones consensus, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday.
The unemployment rate fell to 4.1%, one tenth below expectations.
Stock market futures were negative after the report was released, while Treasury yields soared.
The report caps a year in which employment grew every month, albeit inconsistently and at times raising questions about whether a recession was looming. However, the last two months showed that the labor market continues to perform strongly as the Federal Reserve contemplates its next monetary policy moves.
One area that Fed officials have emphasized is not a source of inflation is the labor market, and wages grew slightly less than expected. Average hourly wages rose 0.3% on the month, which was in line with forecasts, but the 12-month increase of 3.9% was slightly below the outlook and indicates that wage inflation at least It is becoming a less important factor.
This is breaking news. Check back for updates.
