Strong US job growth raises doubts about further Fed rate cuts
(Reuters) -The U.S. job market again defied an anticipated slowdown, with firms adding more than a quarter of a million jobs in the final month of 2024 and leaving Federal Reserve policymakers to puzzle over the need for more interest rate cuts in a strong economy. The unemployment rate, as reported in the Labor Department's monthly jobs report, ticked down to 4.1% from 4.2%. In another footnote on the Fed's confidence in further rate cuts and a further slowdown of inflation, consumers now expect prices over the coming year to increase 3.3%, a sharp jump from prior months, a separate University of Michigan sentiment survey showed.
