US Labor Market Remains Sturdy Amid Rising Global Shipping Costs

Easing wage gains and steady economic growth projected for 2024 as Vietnam's economy exceeds expectations

US labor market remained sturdy with wage gains easing as 2023 ended, setting up for steady economic growth and waning inflation in 2024.
Government data projected to show payrolls in the US increased by 170,000 in December, capping a year in which some 2.7 million jobs were added.
Median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists calls for a 3.9% increase in average hourly earnings from a year earlier, the smallest annual gain since mid-2021.
Shipping costs are rising as hundreds of container ships that typically transit the key maritime artery of the Red Sea and Suez Canal are rerouting after a multitude of attacks by Iran-backed Houthi militants.
Vietnam’s economy fared better than expected in 2023, indicating it will keep improving as consumer demand returns, exports recover and investments surge.