Employers closed a year that defied economic expectations by adding more jobs and raising wages higher than economis🎉ts wereꦬ anticipating.

The U.S. economy added 216,000 jobs in December, above 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:November’s 199,000 new jobs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The number of jobs surged past economists' expectations that employers would hire just 170,000 new workers during the month. It marks another strong month for a labor market that never produced the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:layoffs economists expected in 2023. 

“We got a bit of a shocker today with the job market showing much more signs o𒉰f strength, and not cooli🐓ng at all,” remarked Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Independent Advisor Alliance.

The unemployment rate and wage growth also defied expectations. The unemployment rate stayed at 3.7%, whe💝re economists expected 3.8%. Year-over-year hourly wages ticked higher to 4.1%, beating expectations that it would dip to 3.9%.

The report comes as the most recent Federal Open Markets Committee meeting🥂 minutes showed members were still closely following the labor market, creating some un💝certainty about the path ahead. Continued strong gr🍨owth in jobs could make it harder for officials to begin lowering interest rates. 

“The totality of the data shows that the job market is still staggeringly strong, especially when you conside𒁏r the pressure on the economy,” said Callie Cox, U.S. investment analyst at eToro. “But this particular report may not be good enough to please a market that’s obsessed with the idea of rate cuts.”ও

And while wage growth remains good news for workers, Cox said it could pose problems in the fight against inflation, as this month’s growth was the first time wages increased in the past five months. 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Higher wages can drive up the costs of goods and services, as employers n꧒eed to raise prices to cover worker costs.