Overview

• Despite the Federal Reserve's campaign to tame inflation with interest rate hikes, the U.S. labor market ended 2023 with a strong showing, adding 216,000 jobs in December, exceeding Wall Street's consensus forecast.
• The Biden administration celebrated the robust jobs report, arguing that it's good news for both Wall Street and Main Street.
• Despite strong job growth, the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.7% in December, and the labor force participation rate fell from 62.8% to 62.5%, indicating a smaller percentage of Americans are contributing to economic growth via the labor force.
• Average hourly earnings in December jumped 4.1% from a year ago, topping the consensus estimate for a 3.9% gain.
• Despite the strong jobs report, some investors are concerned that the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes haven’t slowed the economy enough to tame inflation.