Investing.com – The U.S monthly employment report showed that the economy created fewer jobs than expected in December, according to official data released on Friday.
Non-farm payrolls (NFP) rose 148,000 in December, compared to the creation of 252,000 posts a month earlier that was revised up from the initial gain of 228,000.
The data missed the consensus estimate for the creation of 190,000 jobs, and was lower than 250,000 that the ADP report indicated a earlier.
However, the jobless rate met expectations by holding steady at 4.1%
Average hourly earnings advanced 0.3% month-on-month in December, in line with forecasts and compared to the prior 0.1% increase which was revised down from an initial 0.2% advance.
On an annualized basis, wage inflation rose 2.5% in December, that was in line with forecasts for it to remain stable with prior month’s reading.
The increase in wages is being closely monitored by the Federal Reserve for evidence of diminishing slack in the labor market and upward pressure on inflation. Economists generally consider an increase of 3.0% or more to be consistent with rising inflation.
Additionally, the private sector created fewer of the new job contracts than expected in December with a total of 146,000, compared to consensus expectations for 185,000. November’s number was revised to an increase of 239,000 private nonfarm payrolls, from the prior reading of the destruction of 221,000 jobs.
Government payrolls increased by 2,000 last month, compared to the 13,000 public jobs created in November, revised from an initial increase of 7,000 positions. December’s reading missed forecasts for the creation of 5,000 government posts.
The participation rate remained unchanged at 62.7% in December.
The U-6 unemployment rate, that includes those workers who are working part-time for purely economic reasons, increased to 8.1% from the November’s reading of 8.0%.
Furthermore, the average weekly hours held stable at 34.5 December, in line with expectations.
After the report, the dollar weakened, heading into negative territory against major rivals. Specifically, the U.S. Dollar Index traded at 91.54, compared to 91.80 ahead of the report. EUR/USD traded at 1.2071, from 1.2045 before the publication, USD/JPY traded at 113.06, from 113.29 earlier, and GBP/USD was at 1.3577, compared to 1.3551 previously.
U.S. futures still pointed to a higher open on Wall Street. The blue-chip Dow futures gained 91 points, or 0.36%, S&P 500 futures rose 10 points, or 0.37% while the Nasdaq 100 futures traded up 33 points, or 0.50%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,321.10 a troy ounce, compared to $1,319.00 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $61.49 a barrel from $61.31 earlier.