The US economy generated 216,000 nonfarm jobs in December 2023, according to the Labor Department, a number well above market expectations, like Jefferies, which was expecting only 185,000.

The unemployment rate held steady at 3.7% of the labor force (against a rise to 3.8% expected by Jefferies), the labor force participation rate fell by 0.3 points to 62.5%, and average hourly earnings grew at an annual rate of 4.1%.

In addition, job creation was revised significantly downwards, from 150,000 to 105,000 for October and from 199,000 to 173,000 for November, for a total revision balance of -71,000 for these two months.

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