US employers dramatically stepped up their hiring in December, adding 312,000 jobs in an encouraging display of strength for an economy in the midst of a trade war, slowing global growth and a partial shutdown of the federal government. The strong job gains suggest that the tumbling stock market has yet to depress expectations that the economy will expand for a 10th straight year. Major companies such as Apple say their sales are being jeopardized by the tariff-fueled trade war between the United States and China. But the expected continuation of steady job growth suggests that such risks might be — for the moment, anyway — overblown. In 2018, employers added 2.6 million jobs, or an average of nearly 217,000 a month, according to the Labor Department.

Source: Hindustan Times January 04, 2019 13:41 UTC