The U.S. labor market beat expectations again in December, adding 216,000 jobs to close out the year while the unemployment rate held steady at 3.7%.
Yet the job gains were slower than the same period a year ago, with the three-month average gain dropping to 165,000 a month compared with an average of 284,000 in December 2022, according to Nick Bunker, director of economic research for North America at the Indeed Hiring Lab.
“After entering…