The U.S. job market gained momentum in December, with job growth beating economists' expectations by a mile and the unemployment rate unexpectedly falling.
The economy added 256,000 jobs last month, 160,000 more than expected, and 212,000 in November (revised from 227,000 originally announced), the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday. exceeded.
The unemployment rate in December fell to 4.1%, compared to the expected 4.2% and 4.2% in November.
Bitcoin (BTC) fell more than 2% to $92,800 immediately after the report, as it attempts to recover from a steep drop earlier this week.
Today's job market indicators have led to a number of recent economic reports pointing to market-wide declines across asset classes, as investors quickly diminished the idea that the Federal Reserve would continue its series of rate cuts in 2025. Announced after causing.
The previously high-flying crypto market has taken the brunt of the decline, with Bitcoin falling from nearly $103,000 on Monday to below $92,000 at one point on Thursday. Major altcoins suffered even bigger declines on a percentage basis.
A check of traditional markets reveals that U.S. stock index futures are down about 1% following the employment report. The strongest reaction was in the bond market, where the 10-year Treasury yield rose 9 basis points to 4.78%. The dollar index also rose sharply, rising 0.6%. Gold prices fell slightly to just below $2,700 per ounce.
Traders are rapidly scaling back bets on another Fed rate cut in 2025, with the probability of a March rate cut dropping to 28% from 41% just before the report, according to CME FedWatch. The probability of a May interest rate cut has fallen from 44% to 34%.
In other notable report details, average hourly wages increased 0.3% in December, compared to an expected 0.3% and 0.4% in November. Compared to the same month last year, average hourly wages rose 3.9% compared to the expected 4% and the 4% measured in November.
