US non-farm payroll: US jobs data beats expectations but wages lag
The US economy added 252,000 jobs in December, while the unemployment rate fell from 5.8 per cent to 5.6 per cent, official figures released today show.
This was slightly above economists' expectations of 240,000 jobs in December, and an unemployment rate of 5.7 per cent.
However, wage growth missed expectations, posting a decrease of 0.2 per cent for the last month of 2014.
Job creation was down from November's bumper jobs report when the economy created 353,000 jobs, way above analysts' forecasts of 225,000.
A slew of positive economic data out of the United States has fuelled expectations the Fed will start raising rates around the middle of this year.
This is in contrast to the European Central Bank which is expected to enact more monetary stimulus when its general council meets on 22 January.