MNI BRIEF: US Hiring Booms In Dec, Jobless Rate Falls To 4.1%
MNI (WASHINGTON) - U.S. employers added 256,000 jobs in December and the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell a tenth to 4.1%, dampening market hopes for further interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve this year.
The figure topped the range of Wall Street expectations which centered around 155,000 and the unemployment rate staying put. October and November payrolls were revised down by just 8,000, further bolstering the strong report.
The U.S. dollar surged and Tresasury yields jumped following the data. Employment trended up in health care (46,000), government (33,000) and social assistance (23,000), while retail trade (43,000) reversed losses from a month earlier, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday. Average hourly earnings added 0.3%, down a tenth from November, and was 3.9% higher than a year earlier. The unemployment rate was the lowest since June. The FOMC last month projected the jobless rate to end the year at 4.2% and rise to 4.3% by the end of 2025. (See: MNI INTERVIEW: Fed Won't Consider Cuts Until March - Benigno)