US employers probably tempered their hiring last month to wrap up a year of moderating yet still-healthy job growth that economists expect to carry on in 2025.
Payrolls increased 160,000 in December, when the labor market moved beyond distortions caused by hurricanes and strike activity in previous months, according to the median projection of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. That would put average monthly job growth near 180,000 for 2024 — lower than the prior three years but consistent with a firm labor market.