There is one major thing that president-elect Donald Trump will be getting as President Biden prepares to hand over the reins: a strong labor market.
U.S. employers added more than a quarter-million jobs in December — well above expectations — while the unemployment rate dipped to 4.1%, according to a report from the Labor Department Friday.
Here are four things to know about the job market and the broader economy.
The American job market has held up remarkably well
The pace of hiring has slowed in the U.S. — but it hasn't stalled.
On average, employers have added 165,000 jobs a month for the last six months. While that's down from the previous six months, when job gains averaged 207,000 a month, it's strong enough to keep the unemployment rate at historically low levels.
Many of the job gains in December were in sectors such as health care and government, which tend to be insulated from the ups and downs of the economy. But cyclical industries such as restaurants and retail also added tens of thousands of jobs in December. Even construction, which is sensitive to high interest rates, added 8,000 jobs last month.
Manufacturing continues to be a weak spot, however. Factories shed 13,000 jobs in December.
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Wages continue to rise, although not as quickly
Employers are not having to compete as hard to find workers as they did just two or three years ago, and wage gains have gradually slowed. Average wages in December were up 3.9% from a year ago, compared to a 4% annual increase the previous month.
While wages are not climbing as fast as they once were, they're still outpacing prices, so workers' paychecks are stretching farther at a time when inflation remains a top concern for many households.
Wages rose faster than consumer prices in each of the 19 months through November, and inflation data due out next week will likely show that trend continued in December.
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The Federal Reserve is in no hurry to cut interest rates
After pushing interest rates to a two-decade high to fight inflation, the Federal Reserve has lowered rates by a full percentage point since September. But with inflation holding stubbornly above its target of 2%, the central bank has signaled that it's likely to move cautiously on any additional rate cuts. And Friday's jobs report will simply reinforce that caution.
In setting interest rates, the Fed tries to strike a balance between rates that are high enough to curb inflation but not so high as to trigger layoffs. If the job market were to weaken substantially, the central bank would face more pressure to cut interest rates. But the strong jobs numbers for December show the Fed can afford to take its time.
The prospect that interest rates will stay higher for longer disappointed investors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled more than 600 points in the first 90 minutes of trading Friday.
The economic outlook remains uncertain
While the job market remains strong and inflation has gradually cooled, political turnover in Washington has added more uncertainty to the economic outlook. President-elect Trump has promised tax cuts and deregulation, which could stimulate economic growth but also rekindle inflation. Higher tariffs and strict limits on immigration could also push prices higher.
The scope of those changes is still unknown, however. That leaves businesspeople and Fed policymakers in wait-and-see mode as a new year and a new administration begins.
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