US Economy Added a Big 312,000 Jobs in December, Unexpectedly Smashing Expectations

Economy adds 312,000 jobs in December, blowing past forecasts.

0.4% increase in wages as well.

The unemployment rate edged up to 3.9%, but that could very well be linked to the increased number of "job leavers," people leaving jobs voluntarily -- which is a sign of a healthy economy. People don't feel trapped in a job they don't actually want when there are more jobs available.

In addition, the jobs numbers from the past two months were also adjusted upwards. November's job creation numbers were increased from an earlier reading of 155,000 to 176,000, and Octobers were increased from 237,000 to 274,000. In total, 58,000 more jobs were created than originally thought.

And who knows how many jobs Trump Saved! (We should begin insisting the media report on Trump's Jobs Saved figures.)

Meanwhile, the Dow jumped 700 points after the Fed promised it would be more patient about further rate hikes.

Stocks rallied on Friday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank will be patient in raising rates, quelling fears of tighter monetary policy in the near future.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 700 as Boeing, UnitedHealth and 3M outperformed. The S&P 500 rallied 3.2 percent, with the tech sector gaining more than 4 percent. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 4.1 percent.

"As always, there is no preset path for policy," Powell said. "And particularly with muted inflation readings that we've seen coming in, we will be patient as we watch to see how the economy evolves."

Did I say 700 points? It's up to 816 points.

posted by Ace of Spades at 01:16 PM

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