Jobs report released on Friday showed employers added 216,000 jobs in December, much higher than an estimated 170,000 by experts and economists. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate was at 3.7%, slightly lower than forecast for 3.8%.
Higher-than-expected jobs report came from an addition of 52,000 in government sectors and another 38,000 in health care-related fields. Meanwhile, average hourly earnings increased 0.4% on the month and up 4.1% from last year. Both figures were higher than estimates for 0.3% and 3.9%, respectively.
Following the jobs report, the US 10-year Treasury yield rose to around 4.04%.
A strong labor market could indicate that the Federal Reserve might potentially delay the first of its rate cuts from the market’s anticipation to be in March.
