United States: Labor market improves in December
Total non-farm payrolls grew by 216,000 in December, up from 173,000 in November and above market expectations. Job gains trended up in health care, government and construction, while staffing was cut in the transportation and warehousing sector.
The unemployment rate came in at November’s 3.7% in December, while annual wage growth ticked up to 4.1% (November: +4.0% yoy).
All in all, the figures show that the labor market remained in good shape in December, which should have provided support to private consumption going into the new year.
Our Consensus is for the labor market to gradually lose steam ahead, with the unemployment rate forecast to rise and average above 4.0% by Q4 2024.