US job growth slows in December but unemployment rate eases

US job growth slowed more than expected in December amid business caution about hiring because of import tariffs and rising artificial intelligence (AI) investment, but the unemployment rate fell to 4.4 per cent, supporting expectations that the Federal Reserve would leave interest rates unchanged in January.

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A restaurant in New York advertising job openings. US non-farm payrolls increased by 50,000 jobs in December after rising by 56,000 in November. The employment report suggested that the labour market remained stuck in what economists and policymakers have called a "no hire, no fire" mode. PHOTO: AFP

(AFP)

Non-farm payrolls increased by 50,000 jobs in December after rising by a downwardly revised 56,000 in November, the Labour Department's Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS) said on Jan 9.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 60,000 jobs added after a previously reported 64,000 increase in November.

The closely watched employment report suggested that the labour market remained stuck in what economists and policymakers have called a “no hire, no fire” mode. It also confirmed the economy was in a jobless expansion.