Workers build homes in Raleigh, North Carolina. Photographer: Allison Joyce/Bloomberg
(Bloomberg) -- Here are the key takeaways from the US employment report for December released Friday.
- US payrolls climbed by 216,000 in December, the most in three months and beating almost all economist forecasts, though that was after the gains for November and October were revised lower by a combined 71,000. The unemployment rate held at 3.7%, against expectations for a rise to 3.8%.
- December's payroll gains were driven by three categories: Education/health, leisure/hospitality and government. The overall level of leisure/hospitality jobs remains below the pre-pandemic high, showing that some parts of the job market are still normalizing after the Covid shock.
- The household survey painted a much different picture, with employment dropping by some 683,000. An exodus of more than 800,000 people from the labor force sent the participation rate tumbling to 62.5%, the lowest level since February. Demographic figures showed a sharp divergence, with the Black unemployment rate sliding by 0.6 percentage point to 5.2%, while White unemployment rose, to 3.5%.
- Wage gains outpaced expectations, with average hourly earnings up 0.4% for a second straight month, generating a year-on-year increase of 4.1%. Along with the relatively low jobless rate, the figures served as a reminder of the potential for inflation pressures. Former New York Fed President William Dudley said the first Federal Reserve rate cut is more likely to come in May than March.
- Treasury yields climbed after the release, with interest-rate futures showing less chance of a March rate reduction. Two-year yields were up about 3 basis points at 4.42% as of 9:26 a.m. in New York while S&P 500 futures were up slightly after initially dropping to their lows of the session.
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