A not-so-strong employment picture in December and a contraction in service sector activity showed that inflation may be cooling and that the Federal Reserve may not unleash a slew of rate hikes this year, as it did last year.
Per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employers in the United States added 223,000 jobs last month, more than analysts’ estimate of 200,000. But December’s job growth was the smallest in two years. What’s more, wage growth has begun to slow down. Average hourly wages increased by 0.3% in December, down from 0.4% in November. It’s also below analysts’ forecast of an increase of 0.4%.
On a year-over-year basis, average hourly wages may have increased by 4.6% last month, but it’s down from November’s 4.8%. At the same time, average hourly wages may have risen 4.1% on an annual basis in the past three-month period, yet it’s…
