Non-farm Payrolls: Good News & Bad News

Employment Situation - Non-farm payrolls increased by 50K in December, lower than the estimated 60-70K and the revised 56K from the previous month [1] - The unemployment rate fell by 20 basis points to 4.4%, marking the lowest level since September and the first month-over-month decrease since June [1] Labor Market Revisions - Revisions to prior months indicate a weakening labor market, with November's jobs revised down by 8K to 56K and October's revised down by 68K to a loss of 173K [2] - The four-month trailing average of jobs gained per month is now at 12K, below the previous average of 13K [2] Job Sector Performance - Private-sector jobs contributed significantly with an increase of 37K, while government jobs rose by 13K, despite a decrease of 6K in federal government employment [3] - Healthcare jobs saw the largest increase at 46K, followed by construction at 28K and social assistance at 18K; however, leisure/hospitality and transportation sectors experienced declines of 12K and 18K, respectively [3] Wage and Labor Participation - Hourly wages increased by 0.3% month-over-month and 3.8% year-over-year, which may not support a case for interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve [4] - Average workweek and labor force participation rates remained low at 34.2 and 62.4%, respectively; the U-6 unemployment rate fell to 8.4%, the lowest since September [4] Housing Market Data - Housing starts for October decreased by 4.6% month-over-month to 1.25 million seasonally adjusted annualized units, with single-family starts increasing by 5.4% while multi-family starts dropped by 26% [5] - Building permits, a leading indicator for future housing starts, were at 1.41 million, down 0.2% month-over-month but up from expectations, with multi-family permits increasing by 0.4% [6]