The Labor Department released its jobs report for December, which showed the U.S. economy added 256,000 jobs last month, well above economists' expectations.

The US economy added more jobs than forecast in December while the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Friday showed 256,000 new jobs were created in December,

Payrolls: 256,000 jobs added in December vs. 153,000 expected, according to economists surveyed by FactSet. Unemployment rate: 4.1%, down from 4.2% in November. Revisions: October

The December jobs report showed a surprise surge in hiring and an unexpected drop in the unemployment rate. Taken together, the data strengthen the case for the Federal Reserve to maintain its current cautious stance toward lowering borrowing costs,

U.S. job growth unexpectedly accelerated in December while the unemployment rate fell to 4.1% as the labor market ended the year on a solid footing, reinforcing views that the Federal Reserve would keep interest rates unchanged this month.

The U.S. job market again defied an anticipated slowdown, with firms adding more than a quarter of a million jobs in the last full month of Joe Biden’s presidency and leaving Federal Reserve policymakers to puzzle over the need for more interest rate cuts in a strong economy.

Key Takeaways The odds of the Federal Reserve cutting its benchmark interest rate this year fell after a jobs report Friday showed hiring in December blew past expectations.Strong job growth means less pressure on the Fed to cut interest rates to save the economy and prevent layoffs.

The US economy defied expectations in December, adding 256,000 nonfarm payroll jobs, surpassing economists forecast of 164,000 and Novembers revised 212,000 increase. The unemployment rate dipped to 4.