The job market was supposed to slow down in December; instead, it hit the gas.

U.S. employers added 256,000 jobs in December, up from a revised 212,000 in November, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday. It was the most jobs added in any single month since March and blew past the 155,000 forecasters had expected, according to a survey of economists by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1%, whereas the median forecasters called for it to stay flat at 4.2%.

The solid job growth is a double-edged sword for the health of the economy. On the one hand, it reduces the possibility that employers are on the verge of a wave of layoffs, as some experts have warned. On the other hand, it means borrowing costs could stay higher for longer, as the Federal Open Market Committee, the group that sets monetary policy at the Fed, has less reason to cut its benchmark interest rate to stoke the economy with easy money and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:help out the job market.

"Today’s job report suggests we shouldn’t expect to see a rate cut coming out of the next few FOMC meetings," Elyse Ausenbaugh, head of investment strategy at J.P. Morgan Wealth Management, wrote in a commentary. "The data underscored that this is a strong economy that doesn’t currently need meaningful additional policy easing to see its expansion persist."

Investors scaled back their expectations that the Fed will cut rates at any point in 2025. As of Friday morning, financial markets were pricing in a 28% chance the Fed would not cut the fed funds rate at all in 2025, up from nearly 14% the day before, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, which forecasts rate movements based on fed funds futures trading data.

A 'Healthy' Job Market

The health care sector added 46,000 jobs, the most of any sector, followed by retail at 43,000 and government at 33,000. The unemployment rate was relatively low by historical standards but above 2023's five-decade low of 3.4%.

Job market data has sent mixed signals about its trajectory in recent months. Layoffs have remained near historic lows, but hiring has also been lackluster, with une✅mployed workers having a relatively hard time finding new positions.

In 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:the most recent data available, there were 1.1 job openings for every unemployed worker in November, below pre-pandemic levels. In December, 26% of unemployed people found work, up from 21% in November, which had been the lowest job-finding rate since the pandemic hit.

"The job market closed 2024 in pretty good shape," Bill Adams, chief economist for Comerica Bank, wrote in an email. "The unemployment rate is no longer at a fifty-year low but still indicates that most Americans who want jobs have them."

Update, Jan.10, 2024: This article has been updated with additional commentary from economists and statistics from Friday's report.