US job growth stayed solid last month and the unemployment rate fell while wage gains cooled, indicating a resilient labour market that nevertheless may give room for the Federal Reserve to further slow interest-rate hikes. Nonfarm payrolls increased 223 000 in December, capping a near-record year for job growth, a Labor Department report showed Friday. The unemployment rate decreased by 0.1 percentage point to 3.5%, matching a five-decade low, as participation inched higher. That said, the welcome uptick in participation paired with a slowdown in wage growth suggest some of the tightness in the labor market is starting to unwind. A sustained deceleration in wage growth could offer some comfort to central bank officials that a key part of the inflation puzzle is losing steam.

Source: News 24 January 07, 2023 03:06 UTC