December Jobs Report Miss Forecasts While Unemployment Defies Expectations

The Labor Department’s report on Thursday showed that the number of Americans filing for initial jobless claims in the past week rose by +8K to 208K, compared with the 213K expected. Also, U.S. Q3 nonfarm productivity rose +4.9% q/q, in line with expectations, while unit labor costs fell -1.9% q/q, weaker than expectations of no change q/q. In addition, the U.S. October trade deficit unexpectedly narrowed to -$29.4 billion, stronger than expectations of -$58.1 billion and the lowest monthly level since 2009 ...