The unemployment rate in December changed very little, with total nonfarm payroll employment rising 156,000 and the overall unemployment rate sitting at 4.7%, only slightly up on November’s figure of 4.6% the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.
With Donald Trump’s inauguration on 20 January fast approaching, the latest figures were a sign the economy was performing well without the President-elect’s promised fiscal stimulus according to Luke Bartholomew, investment manager with Aberdeen Asset Management.
He said: “This solid report further underlines the Fed’s point in December that the economy is now very close to full employment. Job growth was decent and wage growth is picking up nicely.
“But the only real show in town is Donald Trump’s inauguration. The economy is doing well and doesn’t obviously need the shot in the arm that Trump is planning on providing.”
Bartholomew added the policy created between the Fed and Trump would be the “defining theme” for investors this year.
While the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell in early trading, down 40 points to 19859, both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite opened slightly higher.
