Summary
The U.S. added 256,000 jobs in December, lowering the unemployment rate to 4.1%, outperforming expectations and reflecting a resilient labor market as President Biden leaves office.
Despite earlier inflation overshadowing a strong labor recovery post-COVID, hiring remains steady, layoffs subdued, and job openings rising.
Forecasters predict gradual hiring growth in 2025, with small-business optimism and easing Federal Reserve policies driving gains.
Economic indicators, like increased consumer borrowing for auto purchases, suggest mixed but improving confidence.
What seems to be weird is that “the market” is reacting to this news as if it is bad. From what I gather, it’s because they aren’t going to get the cheap money they were hoping for (meaning, slashing interest rates, again) because the Fed isn’t likely to race to cut them because of jobs?
So now the Dow and S&P are sharply down today…
Pretty much yeah. They want there to simultaneously be a healthy and robust economy (to maximize those sales numbers) while also having a terrible labor market to minimize labor costs. Low unemployment means that employees can be picky about job offers, while rampant unemployment means they’re more likely to accept extreme low-ball offers. Nevermind that those two are directly linked and it’s impossible to achieve both at the same time. Not that the way capitalism is done in the US has ever been sane, logical, or sustainable. Line must go up right?