What is next for the Fed & the stock market?

[Kirk W]

What investors, workers, and the Fed are looking for in tomorrow’s jobs report

Economists are betting that the labor market cooled in December. That may be music to investors’ ears.

Wall Street will get the last jobs figures for 2022 on Friday morning. The US government is expected to report that 200,000 jobs were added in December, according to forecasts of economists surveyed by Reuters. That would be a slowdown from the 263,000 jobs added in November.

Jobless Claims and ADP Data Point to Continued Tight Jobs Market

The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment claims last week fell more than expected while private-sector jobs jumped well more than forecasts.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that initial jobless claims declined to 204,000 in the week ended Dec. 31, which was the lowest level since September and below economists’ expectations of 230,000, according to FactSet. Revised claims from last week were 223,000.

US hiring stays brisk as employers add 223,000 jobs

 America’s employers added a solid 223,000 jobs in December, evidence that the economy remains healthy yet also a sign that the Federal Reserve may still have to raise interest rates aggressively to slow growth and cool inflation.

The December job growth, though a decent gain, amounted to the lowest monthly increase in two years. The unemployment rate remained fell to 3.5%, matching a 53-year low, the Labor Department said Friday.

Edited January 6, 2023 by Kirk W