US non-farm payroll employment contracted -140k in December, well below expectation. That’s the first decline in jobs since April. Though, prior month’s figure was revised up from 245k to 336k.
Unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.7%, below expectation of 6.8%, with 10.7m people unemployed. Labor force participation rate was unchanged at 61.5%. Average hourly earnings rose 0.8% mom, above expectation of 0.2% mom.
