The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its “Employment Situation Summary” report for December on Friday, and the findings “underscored that this is a strong economy,” says Elyse Ausenbaugh, head of investment strategy at J.P. Morgan Wealth Management, in a statement to Entrepreneur.
The report showed that the U.S. economy added 256,000 new jobs in December, the most since March, while unemployment fell slightly to 4.1%. The number of jobs added was above consensus expectations for a 165,000 gain, EY senior economist Lydia Boussour told Entrepreneur in a separate statement.
Employment was up in industries like healthcare and retail, which added 46,000 jobs and 43,000 jobs in December respectively.
The unemployment rate has remained steady at either 4.1% or 4.2% for the past seven months, with 6.9 million people out of work in December. The number of people who have been unemployed for at least six months is 1.6 million, up by 278,000 from the same time last year, according to the report.
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The economy gained 2.2 million jobs overall in 2024, which made it “more resilient than anticipated,” according to Boussour, but the gain was less than the 3 million jobs added in 2023.
Ausenbaugh stated that Friday’s job report dampens the prospect of a rate cut at the next few meetings of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). The next meeting is on January 28 and 29.
“The data underscored that this is a strong economy that doesn’t currently need meaningful additional policy easing to see its expansion persist,” Ausenbaugh asserted.
“The ‘x-factors,’ of course, are the coming twists and turns related to trade policy, geopolitics, and government efficiency,” she added.
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Boussour’s comments agreed with Ausenbaugh’s.
“Overall, this report should comfort the Fed that a pause in the rate-cutting cycle is appropriate,” Boussour stated.
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