Key Takeaways Financial markets widely expect Fed officials to boost the economy with a rate cut in December, despite indications that inflation has stayed stubborn, and the job market resilient in recent months.

November payrolls were slightly ahead of expectations, with a slight decline in the participation rate for over-65ers. But monetary policy as a new administration begins is an array of unknowns.

The job market remains stable but isn’t growing substantially. This may lead to more interest rate cuts when the Fed meets in December.

The conventional wisdom among economists and traders is that the Federal Reserve is going to cut its benchmark interest rate by another quarter of a percentage point on Dec. 18, and then pause at its first meeting in 2025.

In her first major policy speech, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Beth Hammack said on Friday she’s keeping her options open when it comes to the central bank’s next policy meeting, as broader economic conditions continue to argue for a slowdown in the pace of rate cuts.

The Federal Open Market Committee is most likely to cut interest rates again to 4.25% to 4.5% on December 18 according to fixed income markets.

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Beth Hammack said policymakers are “at or near” the point where the central bank should slow the pace of interest-rate reductions, citing a strong economy and still-elevated inflation.

The 227,000 increase in new jobs in November was inflated by workers returning to their jobs after a pair of major hurricanes and a strike at Boeing. Just how much? Some 30,000 of the "new" jobs were likely Boeing employees.

The U.S. dollar was mixed on Friday after data showed the unemployment rate in the world's largest economy edged higher in November, while gains in nonfarm payrolls were generally in line with expectations,

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said 227,000 new jobs were created last month, a tally that topped Wall Street's 202,000 forecast and was well ahead of the upwardly-revised 36,000 reading from October,

U.S. hiring surged in November, bouncing back from a dismal performance in the previous month and returning to strong growth. Employers added 227,000 workers last month, exceeding economist expectations of 214,