Employers in the United States, US, hired more workers than expected in December 2023 amid speculation that the Federal Reserve would commence interest rate cuts in the first quarter of March 2024.
This is according to an employment report from the Labor Department during the weekend.
Earlier, the US employment report had said the economy added 71,000 fewer jobs in October and November than previously reported.
Meanwhile, unemployment was 3.7 per cent last month because 676,000 people left the labour force.
Household employment fell sharply, and the workweek was, on average, slightly shorter than in November.
Nonetheless, the report indicated that the economy avoided a recession last year and would likely continue to grow through 2024 as labour market resilience supports consumer spending.
“However, the lingering labour market resilience and strength in wage growth could keep the Fed on the sidelines for longer than the markets currently expect.
“Nonfarm payrolls increased by 216,000 jobs last month,” the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said.
Meanwhile, DAILY POST reported that in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, the unemployment rate increased by 0.1 per cent to 4.2 per cent in the second quarter from 4.1 per cent in Q1 2023.