Friday’s jobs report was “even more important” than normal as the market adjusts its assessment of the direction of the economy.

US hiring picked up unexpectedly in December as employers added 256,000 jobs, another sign of the economy’s resilience in the face of high interest rates. The Labor Department reported Friday that job growth was up last month from 212,

Employers added 256,000 jobs in December, blowing past economists' expectations and signaling that the job market remains resilient in the face of still-high borrowing rates and stickier-than-expected inflation.

The December jobs report is expected to show a softening labor market, but nothing to get alarmed about. Wall Street forecasters predict the U.S. created a modest 155,000 new jobs in the final month of 2024 or enough to keep unemployment low and stable.

The last full month's worth of jobs figures under President Joe Biden surprised economists yet again, as December's nonfarm payrolls vaulted over estimates, making a January pause in the Federal Reserve's rate-cutting cycle look all but certain.