US employers added 216,000 jobs in December, a surprisingly strong increase that fuels doubt as to when the Federal Reserve will begin cutting rates this year.
Last month’s payroll growth came in over November’s higher-than-expected 199,000 advance — and well ahead of the 170,000 economists expected, according to Refinitiv data.
The figure marks an average monthly payroll gain of 232,000 over the previous 12 months — a strong figure considering the economy was gripped with stubbornly high inflation and the highest borrowing rate Americans have seen in 22 years.
It reinforces the notion that the Feds not going to be in a rush to cut rates. former New York Fed President William Dudley told Bloomberg on Friday.
Dudley added that the economys doing pretty well and that May is more likely for the Fed to start cutting.
“Theyll need to see some signs that the economy is slowing,” Dudley said. “The wage trend for now is something that is likely concerning to policymakers.”
The Labor Department said employment continued to trend up in government, which saw the biggest gain of 52,000 in December — followed by health care, social assistance, and construction, the Labor Department said on Friday.
Only two industries lost jobs: transportation and warehousing, which dipped 23,000 last month.
The Labor Department’s data revised November’s payroll gains down by 26,000, while October’s figure was revised down by 45,000.
The Fed has lifted the benchmark federal funds rate to a 22-year high, between 5.25% and 5.5%, in hopes of tamping down inflation to its highly-coveted 2% target.
But at the minutes of its December meeting released Wednesday, Federal Reserve officials indicated that interest rates were at or near their peak when they voted to leave the rate unchanged last month but offered few clues as to when they might implement cuts.
Almost all participants indicated that a lower target range for the federal funds rate would be appropriate by the end of 2024, said the minutes, with a number of participants highlighting increased uncertainty about how long strict monetary policy would need to be maintained.
Data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday also noted that the unemployment rate stayed the same, at 3.7%, a tick lower than the 3.8% rate Refinitiv economists also predicted.
Average hourly earnings — a key measure of inflation — increased 15 cents, or 0.4% for the month, to $34.27. Over the past 12 months, hourly earnings are up 4.1%.
The wage advance comes just after New York’s minimum-wage pay bump took effect, lifting the minimum wage in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County $1, from $15 to $16.
In the remainder of New York State — which is one of 22 states getting minimum wage hikes in the new year — the new minimum wage is $15, up from $14.20.
A separate report released by the Labor Department on Tuesday showed that job openings unexpectedly slowed to 8.7 million at the end of November, the lowest level since March 2021.
The figure marks a decrease from the downward revised 9.3 million openings reported the previous month, a signal of shaky confidence in the job market.
Though the dip came out of the blue for economists, it backs up data recently released by American employment website Indeed, which found that as of Dec. 29, 2023, open positions on the site declined more than 15% from a year earlier.
Following the release of the latest Consumer Price Index in November — which tracks changes in the costs of everyday goods and services and showed that US inflation rose 3.1% — Fed chair Jerome Powell said the historic tightening of monetary policy is likely over.
Powell dovetailed the report with projections from all 19 policymakers that showed near unanimity that borrowing costs would fall in 2024 — as many as three times.
While Fed policymakers did not want to take another rate hike off the table, it is no longer the central banks base case, he said in remarks made in a press conference following the end of the central banks final policy meeting of 2023.
December’s CPI report is set to be released on Jan. 11.
Central bankers will decide on whether or not to keep interest rates steady, between 5.25% and 5.5%, following their next two-day meeting, which will conclude on Jan. 31.
DUBLIN — Rocco Becht passed for two touchdowns and ran for another score, helping No. 22 Iowa State beat No. 17 Kansas State24-21 in the Aer Lingus Classic on Saturday.
Becht was 14-for-28 for 183 yards. He found Dominic Overby for a 23-yard TD in the first quarter and passed to Brett Eskildsen for a 24-yard score in the third quarter.
With 2:26 to go, Iowa State went for it on fourth-and-3 at the Kansas State 16-yard line. Becht found Carson Hansen for 15 yards and iced the game.
“He called a great play, he gave me two plays and let me decide and I knew we were going to have a chance to get it,” Becht said “We’ve worked on it in practice and it’s been working for us and we’re confident with it and I have trust in my guys.”
The Cyclones (1-0, 1-0 Big 12) opened a 24-14 lead in the fourth quarter after a turnover on downs by Kansas State at its own 30-yard line. Becht finished the short drive with a 7-yard touchdown run with 6:38 left.
Avery Johnson passed for 273 yards and two touchdowns for Kansas State (0-1, 0-1). He also had a 10-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
“I mean that’s the thing, regardless of the outcome we have 11 games to play,” Kansas State coach Chris Klieman said. “We have our back against the wall, but now we’ve got to reset and regroup and get ready to play.”
Johnson threw a 65-yard touchdown pass to Jerand Bradley with 6:23 remaining, but the Wildcats never got the ball back.
Both teams struggled to deal with wet conditions in the first half. Kansas State had two turnovers and a turnover on downs, and Iowa State committed two turnovers in the first 30 minutes.
“We just made some great adjustments,” Campbell said. “We saw some things different in the first game and the opportunity to make some adjustments and to have the ability to do that, to have the staff that’s been together for so long that we have the confidence to make those adjustments.”
The Cyclones grabbed a 14-7 lead when Becht found Eskildsen in the corner of the end zone with 1:07 left in the third quarter.
Johnson responded with a 37-yard touchdown pass to Jayce Brown, tying it at 14 with 14:09 remaining in the game.
Hansen led Iowa State with 71 yards rushing on 16 carries. Joe Jackson had 51 yards on 12 carries for Kansas State.
“I thought that the (offensive line) did a really great job in the second half,” Campbell said. “Our tight ends and o-line did a great job of execution and man Carson is a really great player so we’re really proud of him.”
Iowa State has beat Kansas State in five of the past six seasons.
“I think those are great wins, any time you can beat quality opponents that’s awesome,” Campbell said. “We got a long way to go, it’s only game one and there’s a lot of football left and we’re going to have to see if we’re tough enough as a program and team to go home and get ready for a good South Dakota team next week.”
Kansas State running back Dylan Edwards was injured in the first quarter on a punt that he muffed. He didn’t return to the game.
The Mets said Montas had a right elbow UCL injury. The move was made retroactive to Friday.
Montas is 3-2 with a 6.28 ERA in nine games, including seven starts.
Right-hander Huascar Brazobán was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse. Brazobán is 5-2 with a 3.83 ERA in 44 games, including three starts, with the Mets this season. His three starts came as an opener.
PITTSBURGH — Bubba Chandler wanted to drink in a moment a lifetime in the making.
The combination of adrenaline, the remnants of his traditional pregame Red Bull coursing through his system and the buzz inside PNC Park as the 22-year-old Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander made his major league debut in the top of the sixth Friday night against Colorado wouldn’t let him.
“I blacked out in the first inning,” Chandler said. “But I just kind of heard the place go crazy.”
With any luck, not for the last time.
Flashing (and sometimes fighting) the electric stuff that made him the top pitching prospect in baseball, Chandler made history while offering a hint of what might come during Pittsburgh’s 9-0 victory over the Rockies.
Anchored by a fastball that reached triple digits with ease and helped by some solid defense behind him, Chandler became the first pitcher to throw four scoreless innings and record a save in his debut since saves became an officially recognized statistic in 1969.
“Kind of everything I dreamed of,” Chandler said after allowing two hits and striking out three while needing 40 pitches to record 12 outs.
Even if running out of the bullpen in late August for a team likely on its way to a last-place finish isn’t exactly what Chandler envisioned his first moment in the big leagues might look like.
If he’s being honest, Chandler thought he would be up sooner, particularly after a spectacular first two months at Triple-A Indianapolis in which he was at times unhittable.
“I was mad, yeah,” Chandler said.
That anger, however, morphed into something else entirely by the time Chandler delivered his first big league pitch, a 99 mph fastball that Colorado’s Orlando Arcia fouled off over the backstop: gratitude.
“You can complain all you want, everything,” Chandler said. “In the end, I’m here in the big leagues. There’s not a lot of 22-year-old kids that get to do this.”
No, there’s not. And even fewer who can do it the way Chandler does it, by attacking the strike zone with what teammate Braxton Ashcraft — who set the table for Chandler by throwing five innings of one-hit ball — called “one of the best arms I’ve ever seen.”
Chandler wasn’t perfect. But he was close.
Arcia took Chandler’s third pitch in the majors and slammed it off the left-field wall for a double. It was the lone major mistake Chandler made.
He fanned Ryan Ritter on a 100 mph fastball that painted the outside corner, induced Tyler Freeman to ground out to second and then struck out Mickey Moniak swinging on another triple-digit fastball.
Chandler needed just seven pitches to retire the Rockies in order in the seventh, helped by a sliding catch by center fielder Jack Suwinski.
Colorado’s Braxton Fulford led off the eighth by getting hit by a pitch but Chandler induced Yanquiel Fernandez to hit into a double play and exacted a bit of revenge by getting Arcia to flail at a 1-2 changeup that dipped down and out of the zone, the only time during his appearance that Chandler made it a point to admire his work.
“I was like, ‘Dang, that felt good coming out of the hand, that was a great pitch,'” Chandler said with a laugh.
Pittsburgh manager Don Kelly sent Chandler back out for the ninth. He worked around a single by Ritter by getting three straight fly outs to end it. Chandler started walking toward the dugout when Suwinski tracked down Warming Bernabel‘s liner to give the Pirates their third victory in four games.
It was only then that Chandler — who had started in 83 of his 89 minor league appearances — remembered that the game was over. It was time to stay on the field for the handshake line that only comes after you close out a win.
In between the hugs, a figurative weight lifted off the slender shoulders that sit atop his 6-foot-3 frame.
“There’s a lot of times during the offseason or during the season it’s like, ‘This sucks. Where’s the light at the end of the tunnel type of thing?'” he said. “I found it.”
The Pirates plan to use Chandler in a relief role for now as a way of creating what Kelly called an “on ramp” to the majors, a strategy the club used earlier this season after calling up Ashcraft.
Chandler will have an opportunity to start at some point, though the club is keeping a careful eye on his workload. His historic night pushed his season total to 104 innings, not that far away from the 119⅔ innings he pitched a year ago.
The reality is that whatever happens over the next five weeks will help set the table for 2026, when Pittsburgh’s rotation could include Chandler, Ashcraft, reigning NL Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes and Mitch Keller, among others.
The future could be exciting if the Pirates can find a way to fix the worst offense in the majors. All that matters to Chandler is that the future is finally here.
“The past 22 years, it’s just been ‘I want to be on a major league field,’ and whether it was hitting or pitching, just wanted to be in the game and show what God gave me,” he said. “And I believe I did that.”
