[The US economy closed out 2024 with another month of massive job growth, adding 256,000 positions in December. The unemployment rate dipped to 4.1% from 4.2%, wrapping up a year that marked a return to pre-pandemic norms, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Friday.
The report underscores how the US labor market has turned the corner since the pandemic. “The labor market is strong, and in an aggregate sense, it really doesn’t get much better than this,” said Elizabeth Crofoot, senior economist at labor analytics firm Lightcast. “There’s very robust job growth. We have low unemployment — it ticked down in the latest month. Layoffs are low. People have jobs, and they are spending, and that continues to bolster the economy and the labor market.”
The US has now added jobs for 48 months in a row, tying the second-longest period of employment expansion on record. Friday’s data also appears to cap off a historic achievement for President Joe Biden: Barring revisions, he’s the first US president to oversee monthly job gains for the entirety of his presidency, according to BLS records that go back to 1939.
However, there are important caveats to note: President Barack Obama, who along with Donald Trump, helped oversee the largest employment expansion ever (113 months), had no monthly net job losses during his second term. Also, economic cycles carry over regardless of party, and the ups and downs of the labor market are influenced by factors beyond a single president.
Economists were expecting a net gain of 153,000 jobs and for the unemployment rate to stay at 4.2%, according to FactSet. US stocks dropped sharply after the better-than-expected report, with the Dow falling by more than 600 points. The 10-year Treasury yield surged to 4.7% as traders fear the robust data and a stronger economy could lead the Federal Reserve to pause its rate-cutting campaign.
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