The nation's employers added a robust 216,000 jobs last month, the latest sign that the American job market remains resilient even in the face of sharply higher interest rates. Friday's report from the Labor Department showed that December's jobs gain exceeded the 173,000 that were added in November, per the AP. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.7%—the 23rd straight month that joblessness has remained below 4%.
Wall Street analysts expected the figure to come in much lower, about 170,000, notes CNBC. And the hotter-than-expected labor market isn't great news on Wall Street, which is worried that the Federal Reserve might start worrying that interest rates are too low again. Dow futures fell more than 100 points in the immediate wake of the report. Overall, the latest data reflect an economy and a job market that are decelerating back to pre-pandemic norms. Hiring remains steady, and while employers are posting fewer openings, they are not laying off many workers.
The resilience of the job market has been matched by the durability of the overall economy. Far from collapsing into a recession, the US gross domestic product—the total output of goods and services—grew at a vigorous 4.9% annual pace from July through September. Strong consumer spending and business investment drove much of the expansion. At the same time, average hourly pay has outpaced inflation over the past year, leaving Americans with more money to spend.
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